Where I Belong: Part II
by bowtruckle90
Summary: Second installment of the story of Marian Knightly. Following the fourth year and the Triwizard Tournament. Rated M for later installments. Please R&R. Marian and her belongings, some affiliations belong to me, everything else is the work of JKR. Cheers!


CAUSE FOR CONCERN

"It's not much, but it's home for now, my darling."

Marian and Sirius were inspecting their newest home. After arriving in Guatemala, they kept changing which inn, hotel, muggle room for rent, they stayed in; constantly changing homes to keep people who would do them harm from finding them.

They made their way into the kitchen and Marian brushed some cobwebs from the stove. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but how am I supposed to cook in here if it's full of webs and dust?"

Sirius barked in laughter. "Knowing you, you'll find a way. You were always highly accomplished in that regard."

This house wasn't the worst they had seen in Guatemala City, but it wasn't the best either. Every room was cluttered with dust so thick you could write your name in it. There were doxies in the curtains. Marian looked about her taking stock of everything that would needed to be done so they could survive for a month or two here. Sirius approached her and lifted her chin. "We can fix it up, love."

They made their way toward the back to the largest bedroom. "I don't suppose we could stay at your place in Scotland," Sirius said quietly as they set Marian's bag down and bowed to Buckbeak when entering (they had made sure to keep him out of sight of muggles as much as possible).

"'Fraid not," Marian sighed back. "It's still not safe to go back north. And my house, I mean…It's secure, but it's on the Ministry's grid. They don't know where I am, and they think I'm on holiday. Chances of someone popping by is slim. But it could happen. And if I take it off the map, make it unfindable, and the Ministry shows up, there's no telling how much digging they'll do to figure out what I did and why I did it. They like to keep an eye on me."

Buckbeak dipped his head in a bow before resting it on his talons again where he was curled up on the bed. At least the linens looked clean, Marian thought. Sirius and Marian sat side by side on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Well, it's not England," Marian said, crossing her arms and looking around the room. "But it's better than the last place we stayed at."

Sirius slung his arm over Marian and pulled her into him, kissing the top of her head before lowering his own gaze to hers and lifting her chin with his free hand. "We'll make it work love." He kissed her lips, and Marian was in heaven. This man she had traveled with, lied for, this man that she had come to love, she wanted the life they never thought they would find themselves in. He was her match in every way, and he had been hers for more than a decade. They had taken time to grow close over the past couple of months. But they had yet to express themselves physically. The constant fear of being found kind of had a habit of killing the mood. Tonight, maybe, in a new house, more remote than any other they had stayed in…

Sirius undid her cloak as he kissed her and cupped her right breast in his hand. He nibbled on her neck and ears as Marian moaned softly and her breathing grew heavy. She lay back, pulling Sirius along with her. Once he was kneeling over her, his hands pulled at her robes until the skirt hem was up about her hips. Sirius rubbed inside of Marian's thighs, gently, lovingly, and his fingers started making their way toward her undergarments.

But just as he was about to strip away Marian's panties, there was a tapping on the window. The both looked toward it and saw a snowy white owl outside. Without a word, Sirius leapt to his feet and opened the window for Hedwig. He stuck his head out once she was inside and looked up and down the street for anyone watching. Chances were slim there would be anyone anyway; this house was perfect in that it was extremely remote in proximity to other homes in the area.

Marian had sat herself up and straightened her robes before removing the envelope on Hedwig's leg before letting her fly over to rest on the dresser on the other side of the room. She scanned it as Sirius said, "No one."

But Marian wasn't listening. "Sirius…you need to read this."

Sirius sat beside her and grabbed up the letter and read:

_Dear Sirius,_

_Thanks for your last letter. That bird was enormous; it could hardly get through my window. _

_Things are the same as usual here. Dudley's diet isn't going too well. My aunt found him smuggling doughnuts into his room yesterday. They told him they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out the window. They're a sort of computer thing you can play games on. Bit stupid really, now he hasn't even got Mega-Mutilation Part Three to take his mind off things._

_I'm okay, mainly because the Dursleys are terrified you might turn up and turn them all into bats if I asked you to._

_A weird thing happened this morning though. My scar hurt again. Last time it happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he could be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterward? Maybe you could ask Marian, she might know if you're not sure. She knows weird things like that._

_I'll send this with Hedwig when she gets back; she's off hunting at the moment. Say hello to Buckbeak and Marian for me._

_ Harry_

Sirius handed the letter back to Marian with a heavy sigh, and asked, "Well? What do you think?"

"I think he's right; it's highly unlikely Voldemort's anywhere near him." Her eyes got clouded over a little as she descended into deep thought. She fingered the corners of the parchment. "But as to the actual cause, I'm not sure."

Marian got a faraway look in her eyes. She was thinking, searching her memory, her internal information. Curse scars were complex. They could hurt for the rest of the receiver's life for no reason, or they could never feel a thing from it. But Harry seemed to be a special case. His scar had only ever hurt him when Voldemort was near him. And from what Marian could tell from the school's history as relayed to her by Albus over various luncheon dates, that was during a time when Voldemort was basically a parasite on the body of a wizard who was a teacher that year. He was not only alive, but gaining strength. Strength enough to talk, and to make decisions. Perhaps there was more to be concerned with than just proximity. Perhaps there was something to it linked to power.

She dearly hoped not.

Marian got to her feet and swept her cloak back on. "Where are you going?" Sirius asked her.

Marian leaned down and kissed his lips. "I'll be gone for a while. Take the gold, use it wisely, and don't do anything stupid."

Marian was smooth, but Sirius could not be fooled. Hearing this, Sirius got up as well. "I'm coming."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." Marian made for the door, but Sirius beat her to it and held fast to the handle. "This is my godson. If he needs someone, it should be me. I should be there." He looked her in the eye but Marian stayed right where she was. Sirius backed himself against the door completely and took Marian by her shoulders. "I'm concerned. Considering everything else we've been hearing, about that woman disappearing, recent sightings of Voldemort near Albania."

Marian sighed. "I suppose if nothing else it means something that Albus has Mad-Eye out of retirement."

Sirius had forgotten that. They had heard about it through the grapevine of a few wizards originally form the London area some time ago, when they had made their way through the Virgin Islands. Sirius had wanted to head back north then, but Marian wasn't convinced they needed to take the risk just yet. Now that these strange happening were affecting their godson, well, that changed things. Sirius rushed to the bag and pulled out the inkpot, the quill, and a piece of parchment. He brought it all to the dresser and started writing feverishly. Hedwig was displaced and instead fluttered over to Marian's arms while Sirius wrote line after line in rather a messy rush. After he was done, he handed it to Marian's free hand and said, "Blow on this."

Marian did while Sirius searched for an envelope. They had bought some the last time they sent a letter. While Marian tended to drying the ink, she read what he had written.

_Harry—_

_I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me and Marian here. If it hurts again go straight to Dumbledore—they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement , which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is._

_We'll be in touch soon. Our best to Ron and Hermione. Keep your eyes open Harry._

_ Sirius_

Once Sirius found an envelope, Marian stuffed the letter inside and sent Hedwig on her way only minutes before departing themselves. As they left the house, Marian said, "I suppose it's a good thing we never unpacked."

Regardless of the chance they could be seen, Marian and Sirius climbed onto Buckbeak and took off into the sky, turning northeast and heading for home. As they flew, they talked.

"Where can we stay?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," Marian called out over the wind. "By the time we reach home it'll be school season. Harry will be at Hogwarts again, but Albus knows not to house us at the castle. It's not safe."

"I don't suppose the Three Broomsticks is up for grabs?"

"When it's me, no. Rosmerta knows that I'm on good terms with Albus, my research is still at the school. It wouldn't make sense for me to stay there."

Sirius wove his hand among Buckbeak's feathers and released the other to grasp at Marian's laced fingers around his waist. "I don't suppose you'd mind being separated for a while love. I need someone with eyes and ears in that school, watching over him. Someone who won't raise suspicion."

Marian nuzzled into Sirius' back. "I mind," she said, raising her lips toward his ear. "But I suppose we need to look after our godson, right?"

Sirius leaned his head to the side, resting it against Marian's as she rested her chin over his shoulder. He knew he could count on her where Harry was concerned. She had grown to love him in much the same way Sirius did. If Harry needed watching, she would watch. Even if that meant Marian and Sirius were to be separated again. Which he expected would be quite painful.

They had gotten to Guatemala by jumping from coastline to coastline from Norway to Iceland, Greenland, Canada, down the United States coast and across the islands. It took them several weeks to make their way there. Getting back, Sirius decided to take a bit of a risk and fly across the ocean to Africa instead and from there up to the United Kingdom's southern coast of Whales in order to save some time. Some didn't mean much though. Really it only cut their travel time by a little over a week. It was terrifying for Marian to the point that she had to be charmed to sleep for a good portion of the trip. Not being comfortable flying over water, Sirius figured that flying for four days over the ocean would do more than enough damage.

Sirius and Marian rested themselves for a few days in Whales to give Buckbeak a break and sleep a good amount before heading further north. During another multi-day stopover on the Isle of Man, mostly for the wizarding village that was there to exchange their clothes, get some food, and a few more supplies with the last of Marian's money, they awoke to a snowy colored visitor. Hedwig. Marian woke Sirius and together they opened the envelope and read Harry's message:

_Dear Sirius,_

_I reckon I just imagined my scar hurting, I was half asleep when I wrote you last time. There's no point coming back, everything's fine here. Don't worry about me, my head feels perfectly normal._

_ Harry_

"Well we're not going back," Marian said handing the letter to Sirius, who scanned it before stuffing it into Marian's rucksack.

"Certainly not." He dug another piece of parchment out and the quill and started scribbling another note to Harry. "Besides, I am deeply interested to know what's been going on, for real. No more rumors, I want facts."

Marian could hardly argue with that; she actually would like to know the truth for herself. Sirius handed the quill to her. "You're better at writing when we're using rocks as tables."

Marian smirked and set quill to parchment as Sirius dictated the following:

_Nice try, Harry,_

_We're back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted with everything going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me. Marian's going to watch out for me, you just look out for yourself. Don't forget what I said about your scar._

_ Sirius_

Sirius reviewed the letter before letting her send it out. He hadn't said the part about Marian looking out for him. Actually he had said he would look after himself. She was right of course. Marian had quite taken it upon herself to look after him every time they had been together since she was a child.

Once Hedwig was off, Marian cloaked herself and kissed Sirius. "I don't suppose you'll stay here this time?" she asked.

"Not. A. Chance." Sirius laid back on the grass and stretched. "You're not going anywhere without me. Not if what we think is happening is actually happening. I hope to Merlin we're wrong, but if we're not you're not going anywhere alone."

Marian knew her lot in the previous war, much like what her lot would be in the one to come. And there would be one to come. The Knightly family was always a hot topic between Death Eaters and other blood loyalists. Sirius' concern was valid. But he shouldn't come with her this time. And she said so. "Why?' Sirius insisted, keeping a firm hold on Marian's forearm and pulled her down to lay with him in the morning sun.

"Because…there's someone I need to see, and I'm not sure if it's safe. For you, I mean."

There were very few people Marian could honestly say she would be welcome to sit and chat with, so either she was going to Albus, which made no sense since they decided they were going to go to the castle together, or she was going to visit someone else. But who? She apparently had a good relationship with Moody, but he would be teaching by now. The same dilemma as Albus, they had to make it to school first. She was still on leave from the Ministry of Magic…so where would Marian be going?

To the only friend they had who would give it to them straight.

"Tell Remus I said hi."

Marian furrowed her brow and raised her head to look at Sirius. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sirius sighed, rubbing Marian's back as she curled herself beside him, head resting on Sirius' chest and hooking her own ankle around his. "If there's anyone else aside from you the Ministry will be watching after my escape it's him. Good luck. I hope he has some idea about what's going on."

Marian nodded and stood. "I should be able to apparate from here. It's not far to his place, actually." She looked down at Sirius and he twitched his fingers at her in an ironic wave in farewell. She started walking away to give herself some space, and drew her mother's wand. The wad she still used despite the memories it held for her.

But before turning on the spot to pay Remus a visit, Marian turned around again to look at Sirius. "Seriously? You're going to let me go just like that?"

"What am I supposed to do," Sirius laughed. "They're bound to be watching Remus, just like they'll be watching your house. I can't show up, it's too dangerous, even as a dog. You go on and make sure you let me know what happens when we meet up again at Hogwarts. Just make sure you're at the castle first; don't come find me until you're settled."

That was it. Sirius was letting her leave alone so he could strike out on his own. He wasn't worried about the Ministry watching her house or Remus'. He was trying to get out on his own without her in case he actually did get caught. Un. Believable.

"You're unbelievable. You really are."

"What love?"

"You don't believe it's dangerous going to Remus. You're trying to get rid of me because you're worried the castle is still being watched because of Harry. You want me out of the line of fire until you're sure it's a safe place to hide. That's why you're not pushing coming with me, you want to case the forests around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade before we're together again." Marian sighed and walked back toward him, sitting down. Sirius raised himself on and elbow to listen. "Sirius, I appreciate the effort to keep me safe, but I'm not going to be able to rest knowing you're out there all alone."

Sirius sniffed and reached out for her hand. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and said, "My darling, if I'm found I'm going back to prison. And if you're found with me they'll stick you somewhere worse: the permanent spell damage ward at St. Mungos. Somewhere you don't belong. This whole idea that you've been subjected to an irreversible memory charm to alter what you believe I did the night James and Lily died is going to continue to be something around which we need to tread carefully until we can clear me. Let me go ahead and make sure I can hide safely. Besides, once we're in proximity of the school you'll be staying there. Keeping an eye on Harry."

"You asked him to keep you posted, remember?'

"I think he's going to leave out some more important details, either because he doesn't know it's important or because he doesn't want to alarm me. I need you there."

It finally hit Marian: Sirius was saying goodbye. "I know this hasn't gone the way you wanted. I mean, twelve years without a woman—"

"No," Sirius insisted, taking both her hands now, sitting up so he could look her in the eye. "No, love. We didn't get the time we wanted, but that's no one's fault. Things have snowballed since Peter got loose. I never wanted to push you to something you weren't ready for. And all this travel and worry- kind of dampens the mood." He smiled a little sheepishly. "We'll just have to wait a little longer, darling."

"So should I expect to see you again?" Marian asked ironically.

"Of course," Sirius chuckled. "See Remus for a while, stay with him and determine when it's best to head for Hogwarts, and by the time you get there I'll know wither or not it's safe for you to come to me out there." Sirius leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I'll send word."

He kissed her long and hard, and after several moments, when they had the strength to part, Sirius whispered in her ear, "I love you, Marian."

It took her a moment, but Marian managed to smile. "I love you too."

Marian stood again and retreated back a few steps. After she spun on the spot and Sirius was gone, Marian envisioned what she knew was Remus' address. Albus had apparently managed to slip it into Marian's robe pocket when he asked her to make her way to the West Tower to catch Sirius and Buckbeak.

When the new location came into focus, Marian saw rolling hills and a cottage much like her own sitting among them. Remus had apparently set himself apart like she did. For different reasons of course, but still…it was comforting to see she wasn't the only one.

As she approached the cottage, Marian thought about those words she had shared with Sirius. Marian didn't really know what made her hesitate. It wasn't that she didn't reciprocate. She just hadn't expected it just then. Sirius had meant it; she could feel his vibes oozing with love laced lust when he said it. There were honest feelings of affection in them. Maybe it was just as Sirius had said almost thirteen years ago: she didn't know what that love meant between them yet. Things had gotten so messed up since the night they thought they were going to be able to clear Sirius' name. Since Peter got loose. It might very well be a long time before they had a chance to sit and talk about…everything.

Marian found herself standing on the front step, but before she could knock the door opened. There stood Remus, looking tired but pleased to see her. "I saw you coming," he said quietly. "Come inside." He stepped aside and let her in. Marian stepped over the threshold and removed her cloak.

"My goodness," Remus said. "You're filthy."

"Thanks," Marian said, walking into the cozy kitchen and sitting at one of the wooden chairs.

A kettle started whistling. Remus hurried to remove it from the open flame of the wood stove and poured himself some water in a waiting mug on the counter. "Tea?"

Marian nodded. "Please."

It was the question Remus must have been dreading to ask. "Is Sirius all right? Is he safe?" He reached for a second mug from one of the cupboards and poured more water before adding a tea bag.

He handed the mug to Marian. She took it and nodded. "Sirius is fine. But we're both back in the country now."

"Yes," Remus said, sitting across from Marian at his table. "I thought it was strange. Albus said you had probably gone south."

Marian took a sip of her tea. "We did. But Harry wrote Sirius telling him his scar had hurt him. We came back as soon as we could."

Remus rubbed his chin. "His scar, you say?"

"Apparently the last time it happened was a few years ago when Voldemort was inhabiting the body of their old Defense professor…what was his name…Quirren?"

"Quirrill. I wonder what has prompted it now. The scar."

Marian gently traced her finger along the rim of her mug and chose her words carefully. "It's possible it was a one-time occurrence. It's more probable that Harry's scar pain is directly related to how powerful Voldemort is growing. Which is clearly a cause for concern."

Remus agreed before taking a sip of his own tea and saying, "I assume Sirius has some grand plan to keep an eye on Harry."

"He's trying," Marian answered. "He's on his way there, to Hogwarts. He's going to try and figure out if it's safe for him to be there without putting me in danger. I'll be there in a bit too, resuming research in the castle so I can keep an eye on things…and Harry; Sirius' grand plan. We just wanted to get a better idea of what's been going on from you. We figured it was better than trying to surmise depending on our information sources. We're not sure what's rumor and what's fact."

Remus sat back. "Well, there's quite a lot. I suppose you've heard about the Ministry official Bertha Jorkins going missing?" Marian nodded. "Well that's true. No one has a clue where she's got to. It's true she's gotten lost before, but it's been quite a long time now. No one thinks she's coming back."

"That's unsettling," Marian said, "but not quite enough to alarm me."

"The World Cup Must have done something for your nerves, though." Marian shook her head at him. "You haven't heard?"

"No."

Remus rubbed his forehead with his fingertips and groaned. "You must have been traveling. During the world cup—well actually afterward—Death Eaters caused a bit of trouble."

Marian leaned in closer and her jaw dropped a little. "What?"

"How did you not hear about this?" Remus asked, shocked. "Yes, they tortured a muggle family, set fire to most of the tents, it was terrible."

"How awful…"

"It gets worse. After everyone had gone to hide and the worst of the chaos was over…someone cast the Dark Mark in the sky."

Marian was stunned. She got up, she paced a moment, shaking her head and sputtering…"What…how…who the bloody hell…" Marian sat back down, still completely frazzled and asked coherently, "Who did it?"

"They caught Crouch's house elf with a wand in her hand, but she was stunned cold when they found her, and chances are she'd—"

"She's have no idea how to cast the Dark Mark," Marian finished.

"Precisely."

"What happened to her?"

"What do you think? Image is everything to Crouch so he freed her. She's at Hogwarts now, or so I hear from Albus. He sends letters from time to time."

If that was the worst of it, Marian just might have been able to deal calmly. But there was more. Apparently rumors had surfaced about Voldemort. That he was alive, he was on the move, that he was getting stronger…and based on this new information about Harry's scar, chances are those weren't as much rumor as they were fact.

"There's one more thing," Remus said. "It may not be relevant."

Marian shrugged, face in her hands. "Go on," she groaned. "It can hardly get much worse."

"The Triwizard Tournament is back." Marian refused to move from her pose of despair. However she did respond with a half-hearted "Go on…"

"Well, we're not sure why but Crouch suggested it early in the summer and the schools and Ministry have been feverishly working on setting everything up. The tournament is going to be held at Hogwarts and the champions are being chosen on Halloween according to the Prophet."

Marian lifted her head. "It's been, what, two hundred years since the last tournament seen through?"

Remus nodded. "There have been revival attempts, but those never really made it past the talking phase."

"Over a course of months," Marian retorted. "Years most of them. And they never came to fruition. Now all of a sudden in a matter of more like weeks than months the idea had been re-proposed, approved, organized and implemented. I find that odd."

"Indeed."

They finished their tea and Marian looked about herself. "You've got a nice place here, Remus." He was watching her intently with a smile on his lips. He was amused. "I don't suppose you have many visitors here."

"Not many, no."

"Right," Marian nodded, still not meeting Remus' eye. "I don't suppose you would mind if I couch surfed for a few days…or a week. I need to draw from my vault at Gringotts, get some clean robes, my cloak needs repair again…and I think it might be best if I rejoin the school at the ceremony for choosing the tournament champions. It seems a little less…pushy."

Remus snickered. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to. You're right. Besides, Harry probably shouldn't know you're watching him so closely."

UNWELCOME

Marian hadn't had time to visit her tower at the school and make sure everything was in place still. She arrived on the Knight Bus just in time for everyone else to be gathering in the Great Hall for the announcement of the school champions.

Marian had never met anyone from Durmstrang, though she had a pen pal from Beauxbatons at one time when she was in school. The boys from Durmstrang were wearing heavy cloaks, fur lined clothes, and boots. They were dressed like Eskimos or something. The ladies from Beauxbatons were dressed tastefully in blue with fashionable hats and cloaks to match. Everyone was looking for a seat while teachers and the other headmasters gathered at the front of the hall near the teachers' table. Marian weaved her way through the crowd of children and toward Albus, who was talking amicably with Minerva.

Minerva saw her first. "Marian, dear!" she called out, waving her forward. Marian ran a hand through her ashy brown curls and smiled as she approached. "Marian, dear, we were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to return from holiday."

Marian felt her cheeks color a little. "Oh…well the whole nasty business last school year just…I needed more time than I thought I would."

"Of course," Minerva answered kindly before excusing herself and inviting the girl to find herself an empty seat at the teachers' table for the Halloween feast. Marian did, and found that the only open seat was beside someone she knew rather well in a past life.

"Alastor?"

The man snapped his attention up to glance at her. He did a double take and suddenly seemed to recognize her. "Marian Knightly. My dear girl, how are you?"

"I'm well," she said brightly. "Is this seat taken?"

"Of course not," Moody growled. "No one wants to get too close to me…worried my bite is worse than my bark." Moody chuckled hoarsely to himself as Marian seated herself. "Heard you'd gone on holiday after that whole mess with Black last year."

Marian nodded and reached for a bottle of elf made wine near her on the table. "I did. It was a little too difficult to be around people while he was on the loose. It's better now that he's not the forefront in the news anymore." She poured herself some of the wine in the glass at her plate and offered Alastor some, which he refused, before she replaced the bottle where it was. "I heard you had a bit of a scare of your own before term started. Something about an intruder?"

Moody growled and took a swig from his hip flask as everyone else was taking their seats and the plates started filling themselves. "Yes, well the official story according to the lackies at the Ministry is that I overreacted." His magical eye spun in its socket and finally rested on something beyond Marian's shoulder. Moody lowered his voice and leaned in close. "You've got an admirer."

Marian knit her brow together and turned in her chair. Sure enough there was someone looking her way. He was apparently tall, dressed in the same fashion as the Durmstrang boys. He must be their headmaster, she thought. She met his gaze evenly, attentively. The man eventually broke his stare and returned to his conversation with Severus Snape.

Marian breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing why she felt so anxious over this small encounter. It took her a moment to recognize that Moody was talking. "That's Karkaroff. Headmaster of Durmstrang."

"I know who he is."

Alastor leaned in close. "You might also know he's a Death Eater."

Marian hadn't known that…She tapped into her subconscious and could feel this man, Karakaroff, his was attention still on her. Without letting on that she could tell, Marian asked Moody softly, "And what is his interest in me, do you think?"

"Same as every Death Eater still out there," Moody answered darkly. "You're one of the few people who could ruin everything."

His tone worried Marian, but then it was Alastor Moody. Mad-Eye. He was never normal, even before the last war. But he was right. Anyone who surrounded Voldemort back in the day knew that the Knightly family was a thorn in his side. They would also know Marian was the only one left.

She ate in silence, preferring to think about wither or not she had done the right thing in coming back to the school with the tournament going on. Of course she wanted to make sure Harry was okay, but with an old Death Eater here, staring her down, well it made her uncomfortable. Marian barely touched her food and found herself wondering where Sirius was just then, and wither or not he was doing okay without her…

Harry was another thing. As she ate, Marian looked over the faces at the Gryffindor table, which thankfully was not overcrowded with the extra students from the other schools, but with so many people getting up and talking to one another over here and over there, she kept losing her place.

The plates cleared in due course, and once they had Dumbledore stood and made his announcement that the goblet would be making its decision shortly. He indicated that the chosen students should go through the door behind the teachers' table and await further instruction. He dimmed the candles until the only ones left were in the various floating pumpkins about the room and the goblet itself, which glowed with a blue flame. Albus did certainly like theatrics, Marian thought to herself as she went to stand beside Moody and the other teachers to wait. She could feel Karkaroff glancing her way once in a while.

Eventually the first piece of parchment was expelled from the goblet. Dumbledore caught it in the air and read from it that the Durmstrang champion was Victor Krum. Marian knew a little about him, he was a quiddich player for Bulgaria when he wasn't in school.

"Bravo Victor!" Karkaroff cheered loud enough to make sure he was heard over everyone else. "Knew you had it in you!"

Marian rolled her eyes and awaited the next champion. When it came, it was the Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour. More applause ensued and many of the boys she passed on her way up through the middle of student tables either got slack jawed or had trouble maintain their balance on the bench seats.

The Hogwarts champion was revealed to be Cedric Diggory. Marian didn't know anything about the boy, but apparently he was a seventh year from Hufflepuff. She didn't want to encourage house partiality, even in herself, but she wondered briefly wither it would not have been wiser for the goblet to have chosen from Gryffindor. Or even from Slytherine. Not that she wanted a Slytherine to win, but at least he would have a better chance than most Hufflepuffs…

Marian realized that Dumbledore was talking. "all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real—"

While he had been talking Marian had noticed something strange with the goblet. The fire, which had turned red when spitting out a name before returning to blue, was turning red again. Albus had been walking between tables as he spoke, and since Marian was close and every else seemed to be frozen in shock, she strode forward in just enough time to snatch the parchment that came forth. She read the name to herself…and felt herself go pale. Albus made his way back to her. "Miss Knightly?" Marian snapped her head up. "If you please." She handed it over and resisted the urge to flinch as Albus called out the name she had just read:

"Harry Potter."

Marian scanned he crowed. Where was he? If she had been concerned about laying eyes on him before, she was frantic to now. Albus had to call out again before Harry stood up and made his way to the front. Albus prompted him through the door and walked on behind him, setting a hand at Marian's back to make her walk beside him and whispering to Minerva to conclude the feast for him.

There was an antechamber to the room beyond the hall. Albus stopped Marian there, which was helpful since she was about to have an anxiety meltdown.

"I thought there were safeguards," she said shakily. "I thought no one was supposed to be able to enter under age. You must have had something in place to facilitate that."

"I did, Marian dear," Albus said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "My age line could have been compromised by an older student putting his name in for him or—"

Marian didn't want to hear anymore. She pushed past Albus, saying, "I have to talk to my godson."

She rushed for the door, but Ludo Bagman came in just as she was about to open it, beaming ear to ear. "Extraordinary," he said, "Simply extraordinary." Marian looked beyond him and saw that there were many other people coming in behind him: the other headmasters, Crouch, Minerva and Severus. Marian looked at a loss. She shook her head and looked to Albus. "Stall them," before turning and bursting through the door beyond and into the chamber.

Inside there was Cedric, Fleur, Krum, and now Harry. The other champions were asking him questions which Harry clearly did not know how to answer. "Harry?"

Harry turned and seemed to exhale deeply in relief. "Marian," he said, rushing to her. She took his hands and listened as he said very firmly. "I didn't, I swear I didn't Marian…"

"It's okay," she said, pulling Harry in for a quick hug. "We'll figure this out." They broke apart and she walked him to one side, away from earshot of the other champions. "We're going to figure this out, Harry, I promise…but you need to tell me again." Harry looked confused. "Tell me again you didn't put your name in."

Harry looked her square in the eye. "I didn't put my name in the goblet."

Marian pursed her lips and nodded once before putting her hand on his shoulder and walking with him back toward the center of the room. "All right," she said nervously, "It's going to be all right."

"Are you going to be okay?" Harry asked, sensing her unease.

"Yeah," Marian squeaked out, her voice cracking. Harry gave her a nervous smile which Marian returned as the others from the antechamber filtered in. Ludo was still seemingly incredibly excited. Once he announced the facts to the rest of the champions, Fleur was the first to speak. "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" he said. "Not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

That was the perfect tone to put it at, Marian thought. Immediately there was sparked a debate among Fleur and her headmistress Madame Maxime. While the rest of them filtered in and found somewhere to stand, Marian stayed close to Harry and kept a protective hand on his shoulder. There was general outrage from the Beauxbatons crew, but Karkaroff seemed to be merely interested in how it was possible that Hogwarts had two champions. That concerned Marian when it was coupled with that icy smile he was wearing.

They talked about the age line, Karkaroff blamed Dumbledore, Severus blamed Harry, Dumbledore blamed no one. Eventually he turned to the boy and asked him, "Harry, did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"No," Harry answered again.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?"

"No."

Madame Maxime accused Harry of lying. At this Marian spoke. "He's not lying."

Madame Maxime turned to the girl. "And who are you to say eef 'e is lying?"

"She's—" Harry started, but out of concern over if he would say something about her being his godmother without realizing the consequences, she spoke over him. "I'm a seer. I can sense emotions, have visions, and I can tell when someone is lying. I assure you, Harry is not."

Maxime sniffed and turned her back on the girl. "But she is aligned with Dumbly-dorr. She would lie for her school."

Albus raised a hand to Marian as she attempted to make an argument. She quieted herself and sighed as she listened to further thoughts on the matter. There had been a mistake in the casting of the age line Albus said it was possible, but really, Marian thought…not a chance. Minerva pointed this out. "Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Marian believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him I'm sure that's good enough for anybody else, considering her exemplary resume!" She glared in the direction of Severus, who seemed to be rather eager moments before to discredit Marian himself, before shifting her cold stare to Maxime.

Karkaroff wanted to reignite the goblet until it came up with two champions for each school. Which was of course impossible. It wouldn't light again until the next tournament. When that wouldn't work for him, the headmaster huffed that he would not be allowing his school to participate.

"Empty threat." Every turned to the door and there was Alastor Moody. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

He made his way into the room and started having an argument with Karkaroff. Marian knew they had history. Moody had caught him, but when Karkaroff started feeding names of uncaught Death Eaters some time ago, he was exonerated and became a teacher. Marian didn't know before tonight he was a Death Eater himself, but she knew he had been arrested during the war, for being a sympathizer at least. Someone who had information. She hadn't known he was part of the club. Now that she did his bargain with the Wizengamot made a lot more sense.

Moody had to lay it all out for the other heads of schools, but nothing would have changed the fact that Harry now had to compete. The headmasters retreated with their champions. Once they had, Dumbledore turned to Cedric and Harry, suggesting they go to bed. Harry looked to Marian who nodded, saying, "Go on, get some rest."

The boys left, Bagman and Crouch went on home. Soon the only people left were Marian, Albus, Severus and Minerva. Marian finally let herself sit on the arm of one of the large comfortable armchairs in the room. She felt as though someone had socked her in the stomach. She pressed her hands to her mouth to help control her breathing and tried not to cry. Harry was in danger…so much danger. The death toll of the tournaments as a whole was astronomical…the whole reason there hadn't been tournaments for two hundred years.

"Was he seriously telling the truth," Severus sneered in her direction.

Marian closed her eyes and bit her lip before ceasing to lean on the back of the chair and sitting up straighter. "I'm sure Severus. Believe me, I'm just as upset as you, and so is he."

Minerva stepped up to Marian and tried to comfort the girl. "There, there dear. There have been a lot of new rules set in place. Nothing is going to happen to him."

"It's not the tournament I'm worried about. I'm sure he can compete despite his age. I'm more concerned about how his name got into the goblet and how it came out again." Marian looked up at the old witch. "The only way it could have come out after the others already had been determined is if he was entered under the name of a different school. Even a phony one. No student could have thought of that, known it would work." She looked to Albus. "It had to have been someone who knows quite a lot about the rules of this tournament. Someone who's planning on this tournament killing him." Marian stood herself up and grasped Minerva's hand before saying, "Anyone who would be willing to take that kind of risk of fifty-fifty success at best isn't going to give up when the plan fails. And it will. I'm curious to know what kind of person has the reasons and the gonads for that kind of plan."

As she tried to make for the door, Severus called after her, "I don't suppose in all your talents, you'll be able to tell us who it is faster than us simply asking around?"

Marian looked away from him and started for the door again. "I'm going to bed."

The corridors were deserted and the lights were dimmed low. Everyone was probably in their common rooms by now, talking about the upset. Marian on the other hand knew she was not going to get to sleep that night. No, she had to get in touch with Sirius somehow and tell him what was going on. She knew Harry would let him know, but the whole point of Sirius hearing from each of them individually is that there might be something Marian would recognize as important that Harry wouldn't.

Marian rounded a corner and found herself face to face with a dark figure. It was Karkaroff. Marian had nearly crashed into him. Before she could say anything to him, he leaned in close. "I didn't know you were a seer, Miss Knightly." His voice was low and husky, very unlike the stronger more assertive tone he normally spoke with (or had that been his moral outrage?) "I very much hope you will be able to help us determine who is behind all this."

Marian attempted to take a step backward, but Karkaroff just continued coming toward her. She was afraid that he might give chase so she decided to just stay put and keep an eye on his hands. One was tucked into his robes, near where a breast pocket or a wand holster would be…

"Since we only just met, and quite informally," Marian said trying to control the major feeling of creeped-out-ness, "your use of the phrase 'I didn't know you were a seer' leads me to assume you did at least know who I was before tonight."

"Of course," Karkaroff growled. "Who could forget; you're that poor girl who watched Sirius Black kill all those muggles and Peter Pettigrew thirteen years ago…tonight wasn't it?"

"It was," Marian answered coldly. "And you're evading. You know me, that much is true. But how you know me…you're lying about that."

Karkaroff was nearly standing body to body with her now. Marian didn't know if she should bolt, try and reach for her wand in her pocket, or scream for help. The fact was, his hand was probably already on his wand. He could easily quash anything she tried to do to end this conversation. There was nothing for it was to stay the course and wait for him to finish with her.

"If I'm lying," he said, bending his head close to her and speaking with his lips mere inches from her face, "then how do you think I know you?"

"I think we both know the answer to that."

Marian had spoken strongly, without a tremor or a doubt. Wherever this confidence had come from, she didn't know, but she welcomed it. Karkaroff met her eye stonily for a moment before straightening up and smirking at her before brushing past her and disappearing around the corner.

Everything about the man was wrong. The things he said, the vibes he threw. Everything about it felt phony, felt like a lie, felt like dishonesty. But why? Most people had baselines of emotions like guilt, worry…but Karkaroff was exhibiting every negative emotion in unwavering, constant, droves. Something was making him anxious, he was feeling guilt, he was paranoid. To the point that he could say anything to her and she wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the truth and a lie, probably. Not on her talent alone. What Marian was sure of was that the encounter she had just had with him was facilitated by Karkaroff. He had been waiting for her. He wanted to scare her for some reason.

Well he had succeeded.

Marian rushed to her tower and dug the key to the door out of her robes from where she wore it on a chain around her neck. Once inside, Marian rushed through her living area and study up the spiral stairs to her bedroom in the upper loft portion of the tower. Once there she looked outside to make sure there were no owls or anything else suspicious before she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them again, she was very small, only about a foot tall. The world was depicted in shades of gray and her skin was covered in cream colored fir. She had changed into her animagus form of a fennec fox. She would have rather done this outside the school grounds, but she didn't know it Karkaroff would be prowling about, watching for her. Best to err on the side of caution and change before leaving.

She made her way carefully through the corridors and to the front door. There was no chance of her escaping through the large oaken fortress that made up the main entrance, but there had always been a window that would not lock just to the right of it that Filch never fixed. Marian jumped from the floor to the sill, and from the sill she pushed the window open with her tiny muzzle and paws and opened the window so she could leap from the sill to the stone rail of the staircase outside.

From there, it was fairly easy to run from the stairs through the courtyard, across the bridge and into the grounds toward the village without being noticed. At least she hoped she wouldn't be noticed. But until she got to the village Marian came across no one. Inside the village perimeter, she had to be more careful, there were some witches and wizards making their way home from the pubs and final closing hours of the shops. There were plenty of smells, but not the one she was hoping to catch before reaching the end of the road. Marian ducked from shadows and alleys when coasts were clear to make her way along the main street and back out of the village before she bent her nose to the ground and sniffed.

She was right, Sirius was in the area, and he had been through the village. Just like she told him not to. More than once. She was picking up his dog scent. It was leading her into the forest in the distance and Marian followed it. It was a long time until she reached the destination, but eventually the scent did lead her to a cave. At least he was no longer using the Shrieking Shack. Now that Marian thought of it, that was the smart thing to do. At the very least, if rumors surfaced again, Severus would be of right mind to go down there and look for him. At least in the caves of the forest Sirius would be difficult to find.

As she walked cautiously up to the cave, Marian stepped on a twig, which snapped much more loudly than its size would have suggested. Marian's attention had been diverted by this and when she looked up again, there was a black dog standing at the mouth of the cave, growling. But when he noticed what she was, realized who she was, he softened and threw his head back with a swift snort before walking back outside, Marian trotting in behind.

Once inside, both Marian and Sirius resumed their natural forms and Sirius rushed to her, drawing her into his arms and embracing her fiercely. "Marian…what are you doing here? What's happened?"

"Oh, Sirius, it's been such a horrible night. I don't even know that I know where to start."

They sat down at the back of the cave together and Marian explained:

"I expect you'll hear from Harry about it in the morning, but the Triwizard Tournament I wrote you about from Remus' house…well, Harry's a champion." Sirius was about to say something, but Marian was on a roll and she just had to get it all out. "He didn't do it himself. Someone put his name into the goblet without his knowledge. But his name came out after the Hogwarts and other champions had been chosen. The only way the goblet would have chosen another champion was if the name was submitted under the name of another school. No student would have thought of that, which leaves the teachers, Ministry officials, and the other headmasters. Speaking of which, did you know Igor Karkaroff is the headmaster of Durmstrang?"

Marian finally took a breath. Sirius shook his head slowly. "I didn't. But I remember him form the old days, Marian, darling. He was a Death E—"

"Death Eater, I know."

"How did he react? When Harry's name came out?'

"Well we all went into the back room, the champions, Albus, Severus (Sirius sneered), Minerva, Madame Maxime the Beauxbatons headmistress, Karkaroff, myself, Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and Alastor showed up eventually. He and Karkaroff practically had a row over it."

"Full room."

"Karkaroff was…well he was upset, of course, but he didn't exhibit the same level of outrage as Madame Maxime did. And the whole time he was exuding anxiety, guilt, fear…and it never wavered. I couldn't get a fair read on him. Not even when he cornered me in the corridor after it was all over and I was on my way to the tower."

Sirius, who had been resting with his back against the rocky wall of the cave, suddenly sat up and scrambled to grasp Marian's hands. "He did what?!"

Marian's resolve finally crumbled. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh Sirius! It was awful! He had been watching me all through dinner and must have been waiting for me after he left with his champion. I rounded a corner and he was just there. He was so close to me, talking about how he didn't know I was a seer, and what could I read from him, and how he knew me…"

Sirius pulled her close. She had only been at the school for a few hours and already Sirius was uneasy with her being there. He wanted to keep her with him. Her and Harry, and never let either of them out of his sight. But he couldn't do that. No, like it or not Harry was a champion now. He had to compete. But Marian…

"Listen darling," he said quietly, pulled away from her a little to meet her eyes. "If you want to stay here, I won't ask you to go back in there. Karkaroff was a Death Eater and no one stops being one of them. His planning a run in with you the minute you arrive has me a little more than a little concerned." He kissed her once, softly. "Perhaps it's best if you stay here with me."

Marian's eyes were red, she was sure, but they were also drying again as her resolve returned. Shaking her head, she said, "No, Sirius. I have to stay. Harry is in this through no choice of his own. Someone needs to be looking out for the people who will be pretending to look out for him. They won't all be friends, I'm sure. Without a filter he won't know who to trust."

Sirius pursed his lips. He hated this, but she was right. And even if she wasn't, he wasn't going to be able to change her mind. "You let me know everything that happens. Anything out of the ordinary, even if it seems mundane, I want to know about it, all right?" Marian nodded and they sealed it with a kiss. "So tell me," Sirius said, trying to casually change the subject, "how was old Mad-Eye?"

Marian shrugged. "He seemed a little off as well. You know as much as I was feeling Karkaroff's vibes, Moody's were a little abnormal as well." She shook her head and thought a little. "He was absolutely oozing anxiety and paranoia."

Sirius shrugged. "Moody's always been like that; it only got worse after the war was over."

Marian sighed. "I know." She snuggled close to Sirius as he rested against the cave wall again. "He's the one person in the castle right now besides Albus and Minerva that I know I can trust outright." She looked up at Sirius. "Can I stay here tonight?"

He rubbed her shoulder and rested his chin on the crown of her head covered in soft ashy brown locks. "Of course, my dear. Of course."

In the morning, an owl fluttered into the cave with a letter attached to its leg. Sirius was the one who awoke and removed the letter before the bird sat on a boulder to rest. He scanned the letter and looked down at his still sleeping wife. Harry had told him about the tournament, just like Marian predicted he would. Marian had left her rucksack with him when they parted last. Sirius quietly and slowly moved himself from beside her and went to rummage in her sack to find the ink and quill, and a parchment piece to write on. There wasn't much inside the pack so it didn't take Sirius long to realize that he was nearly out of the small amount of ink he and Marian had been traveling with months before, and that all the parchment was gone. The quill wasn't doing so good either. He wouldn't be able to respond with the supplies he had. Sirius sighed and wondered what time it was. Not very early, the sunlight outside told him. No chance of being able to steal supplies in broad daylight. He looked to Marian. She had gone to Gringotts recently, or so she had written him. She could easily go into the village and get the supplies legitimately, but…

Something was telling him to keep her with him longer than just the night. It was probably just him being overprotective, but Sirius just had a gut feeling that Marian was scared enough to not be willing to go back to the castle anytime soon. She had said so the previous night, she didn't know who she could trust. Marian needed a few days' rest to sort through it all. And while she was doing that…

Sirius reached into Marian's pocket and picked out her mother's wand. Sirius had used it in the past with some level of success. Surely a simple sleeping charm would be attainable. He waved the wand in a sweeping motion toward Marian and there was a puff of mist that settled over her. Marian's furrowed brow smoothed and in her sleep she smiled a little. She was at peace for now. Sirius sighed and set the wand aside, looking back toward the light of the cave. He would have to wait for nightfall now.

When the sun had long since dipped beyond the horizon once again, Sirius looked toward the still sleeping Marian. Thank Merlin she was still out of it. Sirius changed himself quickly and trotted out of the cave with her wand in his mouth. Sirius wasn't planning on using it, but he in case he met up with one of these shady characters from Hogwarts he's rather be prepared. He would only be gone for an hour or two.

The village was quiet when Sirius arrived. Sunday night and all, it figured. Scrivenshaft's, like most of the buildings, was dark and Sirius gave the building a quick walk around to determine the best way to get inside. It seemed that the best option was the window that led to the basement, and presumably, stored goods, where items were least likely to be missed. Sirius scratched at the old wooden sash for dozens of minutes until he was able to break it apart at the bottom and push his muzzle against the panes until the window was basically in tatters. It would have been a tight fit if Sirius had been healthy, but he could easily fir through the window for the moment as his was still on the thin side, even after changing back to his usual form, which he did.

Once inside, Sirius realized he was right. The basement did serve as storage for quills, parchment, inks of every color. He briefly wondered if Marian had ever been inside the shop before. Surely she must have when she was a student hadn't she? She would love the fuchsia colored one sitting on the shelf to his right. Alas he thought, the best thing would be to take the most basic of everything he could find. Once he had gathered a small bottle of black ink, a small packet of parchment, and a new quill of the most traditional kind, he found a bag to pack it all in and dig in his pocket for the sickle he had lifted from Marian's bag to leave as payment in case something should be missed. He left the coin on the shelf where the ink had been sitting and headed back for the window. He tossed the bag outside and started lifting himself through again. But instead of slipping through and transforming in order to sneak off back to the cave, he dropped back onto the basement floor and crouched low. Someone was approaching…

"Scrivenshaft was right," said the voice of a man. "Something's gone and dug into the basement."

Sirius swore and changed himself back into a dog. Lights from the tips of lit wands were streaming in through the window he broke. He could hear the men talking still. They decided to go in through the front to get inside (apparently _they_ were too small for the window). This gave Sirius some time to find Marian's wand and grasp it in between his teeth again before leaping onto a box and jumping up toward the window. His forepaws sailed through, but the box was barely tall enough to give Sirius a leg up that would have let him land somewhere in the region past his ribcage.

Sirius wasn't stuck, but he certainly did have to struggle to get himself out of the window. Splintered wood and glass bit through his hide and into his flesh. Sirius whined some as he kicked his hind legs and struggled back outside. Just as he was getting to his feet, Sirius noted, though his vision was black and white for the moment, that there was a dark puddle beneath him. He had been cut deeply in one or two places, and the bleeding was much worse than he had thought. Perhaps his malnourishment from the past year was making his adrenaline work in overdrive? Make his wounds hurt less than they should? Either way the bleeding was concerning. Sirius had to make a run for it.

He held tight to Marian's wand between his teeth and high tailed it out of the alleyway, running for the tree-line marking the beginning of the forest. Once inside he would be safe for sure, as it seemed no one was pursuing him. Whoever had gone poking around the shop was more concerned about checking the basement than finding whatever had broken in and back out again.

The night was cold. And it was only getting colder. The forest looked strange to Sirius now. He had arrived during the day when he came to Hogsmeade this time, and had hardly left the cave since then. When he had it was as a dog in the daytime to beg for scraps. Now he was all turned around. Nothing was familiar. He was getting tired and weak quickly. Where was that bloody cave?

Why had he charmed Marian to sleep? He needed her now…

Marian awoke feeling remarkably refreshed and slightly confused. Where was she again? Oh yes, the cave where Sirius was staying near the village. But…where was Sirius? Sun was shining into the cave lighting all the corners. There was no sign of him except the bones of various animals he had eaten since arriving. Otherwise you never would have known anyone was inhabiting the cave. Marian felt around her for her wand, but came up empty handed. Where on earth was it?

Sirius was gone and so was her wand. Why would he had taken off with it? Surely he wasn't going to try and do something to Karkaroff for the incident last night, was he?

Or was it even last night?

Marian felt strange. She had a feeling like she had been out of it for a long time. Much longer than she initially thought. She reached for her bag nearby and rummaged through it until she found a muggle watch she had stuffed in it a long time ago. It had a date function on it. Once reading what is said, Marian received a shock. She had been sleeping for two nights and a day in between! Where the hell was Sirius?!

Marian struggled out from underneath her cloak and took a deep breath before transforming into her form of a fennec fox. She rushed out of the mouth of the cave and ran into the forest. Sirius had to be somewhere. She would have to sniff him out.

After so long, the scent of Sirius was greatly faded, but still, it was present enough for Marian to follow it as long as she concentrated hard enough. It led her through the trees and in the general direction of Hogsmeade. But the path became difficult to follow at some point. Almost like there were several paths of Sirius criss crossing over one another. She didn't know which one to follow. Marian stopped a moment and closed her sparkling eyes to focus on the scent paths wafting into her nose.

He had been toward her left most recently, she thought. Even though that was in the wrong direction of the village. What on earth had he been doing out here?

After what seemed like hours, the sunshine pouring in through the trees lit the forest and as Marian came up over a ridge, she looked down and there was something furry and black laying among the leaves. Marian changed back and ran to him. "Sirius!"

When she reached him, Marian found her wand laying beside the dog's great head. Sirius was out of it, completely unresponsive. She ran a hand through his fur at his chest and back and felt something wet. Judging from the foliage nearby there was no rain recently. When Marian extracted her hand she found it was stained red with blood. She groaned and sighed. Marian picked up her wand and stood, sweeping it toward Sirius and levitating him. He floated beside her as she walked along and back toward the cave Sirius had chosen to call home.

Fortunately, the spell to force a witch or wizard to resume their usual form didn't seem to be a jolting one (Marian was unsure if it would wake him since she had never experienced the receiving end of the charm herself). Sirius remained unconscious through it all. But with him once again in human form and free of thick and wily dog fur, Mairan was able to examine the full extent of his injuries. They were substantial, enough to make Marian worry, particularly the ones containing fragments of wood and glass. She tended his wounds and healed them. It took some time, but eventually Sirius' skin was good as new and there was nothing more to do but wait for him to awaken.

Around sunset Sirius stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around and saw Marian sitting nearby. She held out a heel of bread to him. "You must be starving."

Sirius sat up with some difficulty and accepted her offer. "Thanks."

While Sirius took a bite, Marian unpacked the cheese and cider Madame Rosmerta had wrapped up for her earlier. "Just what, dare I ask," she started with a tense voice, "were you doing when you left here? When I got to you your body was basically cut into ribbons."

Sirius' cheeks colored some and he swallowed his bread before lifting the bottle of cider Marian had set before him and washing it all down. The ache that he had awoken with in his belly was subdued enough. "I was…getting more ink and paper. From Scrivenshaft's. I needed to write Harry back but the supplies were out."

Sirius relayed the whole story, after which Marian shook her head and sighed. "Why didn't you ask me? I could have brought you some supplies."

"I wanted you to rest; you were so worried when you came here the other night. I thought if you slept for a while your mind would be more at ease."

Marian sat up on her heels and squared herself toward Sirius. "I didn't need to be put to sleep for that long! You could have been killed while I was out of it!"

"But I wasn't!"

"Lucky you weren't! Do you know how cold it is at night?!"

Sirius mirrored Marian and raised his voice more. "As a matter of fact, I noticed! I would have done just fine on my own after a bit!"

Marian had never fought with Sirius like this. She found it unsettling. Pursing her lips, Marian sat off to one side of her heels and said softly, "You could have died out there. You almost did. I'm sure you know it was a foolish thing to do. While your intentions were good, there was really no need to charm me. And I'm sure I don't need to explain to you why gambles like that are probably not a good idea to uptake anymore."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "Was that our first fight?" Marian didn't respond, so Sirius sat back again and crossed his legs over one another, thinking aloud, "Yes…yes, I think it was." He was silent a moment longer, contemplating this development, before speaking again with a calmer tone. "Marian, my dear, I don't want to argue. You're right. I cast that charm with every good intention of giving you some well-deserved rest free from concern, but never fathomed that there could be consequences for doing so; or the fact that you may well have been just fine. It was foolish, and I'm sorry for causing all this trouble."

Marian smiled and shook her head. "I don't want to argue either. Which is why I also went to Scrivenshaft's and brought back the supplies you'd gone after. As well as some useful information."

Sirius was surprised; actually, dumbfounded would have been a more appropriate term. Marian had never been one to reward foolish behavior of any kind. Then again, that was over a decade ago. Perhaps she had changed more than he thought…

"How did you know?"

Marian smirked. "Your fur smelled like ink and parchment curing potions. I figured it out pretty easily from there. Now, write Harry and tell him you'll be available to talk face to face on November 22, if he can. I'll mail it for you."

Sirius checked Marian's bag for the supplies, which were indeed there. "Why November 22?"

"Because there's a wizarding household in the village that you could make good use of. The owners generally just stay inside running their shop on the ground floor, but I hear they're going on a little day trip into London to get some supplies that can't be shipped up this way. They'll be gone until late. Harry will have to wait until the common room is empty, maybe around midnight, but that should give you a small window of time to talk to him face to face."

Sirius uncorked the ink bottle and laid out the parchment on a rock. "Better make it one in the morning. All the excitement over the tournament chances are there are going to be more stragglers than usual."  
"If it's too late, you won't have much time."

Sirius looked up for a moment. "If I set it for one in the morning, how much time will I have?"

Marian thought for a moment before answering. "Hard to say. They said they'd be back in the wee hours of the morning, could be any time. My guess from the sense I got from them would tell me you'd have at least thirty minutes though."

Sirius started writing again. Marian watched him, uneasy. She knew he had no qualms about getting caught as long as she was going to go back to the castle. She groaned a little as Sirius signed his name. "Something wrong?"

Marian shook her head. "Nothing."

"It's not nothing." Sirius set aside the parchment after folding in and scootched closer to her. "I know when something is churning in your brain. Talk to me."

Marian sighed and reached out for Sirius' hands. Holding his in hers, she said, "I'm concerned that you're not going to exercise the caution you should. I've given you information, not a guarantee. I'm worried that you're not worried about getting caught, as long as I go back to the castle and look after Harry."

"That's not true," Sirius said in a low voice. He sidled up closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing Marian to lean against him. "And do you know how I know? Because you're going to be there to keep me in check."

Marian drew away a little bit. "You don't want me to go back to the castle."

"Of course I do, as long as it's what you want. Not many people would choose to be living like a mongrel out here." Sirius looked down at her. "But I hope you'll come back here that night to make sure I don't get myself into too much trouble."

"Of course I will," she responded brightly, meeting his eye before snuggling close again. "Now tell me, how should I handle being back in that castle with Karkaroff?"

"Hm…well, don't avoid him. It's better to flatter him, pretend to enjoy a short conversation. Know your enemy and keep an eye on him. It's better than letting him alone to make his own plans."

"Any idea why he's so interested in me?"

"Probably scared of Voldemort's eventual return. You and I know the rumors we heard about are all pointing in that direction and I would assume Karakroff isn't stupid enough to have missed the fact. He's going to have to come up with a way to escape a death sentence for giving up other Death Eaters to the Ministry in exchange for his freedom."

Now Marian understood. "You think he'd try to trade me to Voldemort in exchange for his life."

Sirius sighed, shoulders shrugging, as he held her closer. "My dear I'm afraid he's probably about as interested in you as he is in Harry. You're a talented, powerful witch; he's not likely to have missed that fact. It's not in his best interest to let you live. Especially when you're the last of a family that can vie for his claim to the Slytherine bloodline."

"So the theory is as long as I'm close enough to the danger to recognize when something is going to go amiss, the further I will ultimately be from harm."

"Correct."

Marian stayed only a little longer. She had to leave in enough time to post Sirius' response to Harry before the owl post in town closed. After doing so, Marian returned to the castle, keeping in mind what Sirius had said to her about keeping close to Karkaroff. She wondered how Harry was doing. After a couple of days Marian was ashamed to say she had no idea how the boy was holding up. She had fled without thinking that he might be in serious need of a friend since so many people seemed to think he entered his name in the goblet himself. Marian let out a frustrated sigh as she let herself into her tower. What kind of godmother was she?

DANGEROUS GAMES

Regardless of what had happened with Harry and the school, Marian did have to continue working. it had been months since she had done any research, been to the Department of Mysteries, done any work at all. Jergon, the Department head had been very kind to her. Particularly after the Minister of Magic himself had suggested that she be removed from duty for an indeterminate amount of time after the fiasco with Sirius escaping. Luckily Jergon was not the type to take Fudge too seriously.

And so Marian plunged into her work. So many fascinating things had been discovered while she had been gone: new articles, new texts, devices and materials. Indeed, Dumbledore had made more than good on handling her life for her while she was on the run with Sirius; her tower had been filled with said discoveries in her absence. But it was considerable. Her tables in the lower level, which had once been clear and free of any of her materials, all nicely lined up in the glass paned cupboards reaching from floor to the apex of the fifteen foot ceiling and requiring a summoning charm or the rolling ladder accompanying the massive structure for more delicate items.

Marian poured over her work, trying to catch up with her theories and research from the lost months. So much so she had barely deigned to come out of her tower for more than a walk on the grounds to clear her head once in a while in almost a week. One afternoon while she was braiding her hair for work that had to be done after she had slept in for an extra several hours, exhausted from a long night of research, and making a mental note of how she should approach some of the unique gemstones left for her in a velvet lined box (ones that were said to attract the dead), there was a knock on her door.

Marian walked down her spiral staircase past the brightly colored stained glass window which stretched the entire height of her tower, floor to the top of the loft, and answered.

The student who had knocked was young; not someone she had ever met before she didn't think. He had sandy blonde hair and an eager expression. "Hello, Miss Knightly?"

Marian nodded. "And you are?"

"Colin Creevy. I'm a Gryffindor student. Harry asked me to come."

Marian heart skipped a beat. "Harry asked you? Is something wrong?"

Colin must have seen the panic on her face, because he held up his hands in a calming gesture. "No! No, nothing's wrong. He's been called out of class with the other champions to a room on the fifth floor. It's something about the tournament, but he thought you should know."

Marian thanked the boy and watched him go before retreating back inside and collecting her tower key. She left, slipping the chain over her head and tucking it safely inside her robes. Colin had said the fifth floor. Well, there were not many rooms that were used in the morning on that floor, from what Marian could remember so it shouldn't be too hard to find them. Besides, Ludo Bagman was sure to be in attendance if it was anything to do with Harry. His mouth was more than enough to alert anyone to his precise whereabouts.

Well, it certainly did not take Marian too long to find the considerably sized group of people, among them Ludo Bagman. The other champions were there, as well as a photographer from the Prophet (Marian groaned inwardly). The only person she didn't see was Harry. Ludo noticed her coming into the room straight away and walked up to her as she let herself inside. "Miss Knightly! While I must say how pleased I am to see you again, I must insist that you wait outside. Tournament business and all that, you know."

Ludo had made a grab for her hand, which Marian expertly averted before closing the door behind her. "From the looks of it, it's nothing more than a press meeting. Completely public in a matter of a day or so. You can't bar me from being here. Besides, Harry asked me to come."

Ludo scratched his head. "Harry asked you? But…he doesn't know you well does he?"

"Well enough," Marian answered coldly. "Now where is he?"

Before Ludo could answer, the door opened against Marian's back. "Oh," she leapt away from the door and allowed it to open, revealing Ollivander behind it. "Well hello, Ollivander," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"The weighing of the wands ceremony," he said kindly. "What other reason would I have to be wasting some of my valuable remaining time on this earth here? It's quite a shame you declined my offer to be an apprentice, girl. With your powers for divination, you would have been making some of the most powerful wands in history. How long ago was that?"

Marian was flattered and walked beside Ollivander toward the desk where he was meant to set up his instruments. "Let's see…eight years ago I guess."

"Pity. Still, you're young. I suppose when you're done gallivanting around those freaks in the Department of Mysteries you may still come back to me. Now then, the Champions?"

Ludo started ushering them all toward the desk while Marian griped. "One more time, where is Harry?"

"I was rather wondering that myself, Ludo."

No one had noticed that Dumbledore had let himself in. He stood there in purple robes with a grin on his face. "Since we're about to begin, perhaps we should bring him out from wherever he's hiding now."

Without waiting for an answer as to where he was ant longer, Marian suddenly rushed to the broom closet in the corner. She had sensed strong emotion; anger, frustration. Someone was in there. She threw the door open and coughed at the dislodged dust. Brushing off her sky blue robes, Marian peered inside, seeing Harry…and the blonde reporter, Rita Skeeter.

"Are you all right?" Marian had been trying to avoid speaking to the woman all together, but it would seem that simply wasn't going to happen.

Rita gave her most dazzling smile. "Marian, darling! I hope you saw my piece this summer on the International Wizards' Conference?"

"Delightfully nasty," Dumbledore said from behind Marian. He really was being a creeper today…"But the Weighing of the Wands Ceremony is about to begin and it cannot take place if one of our champions is hidden in a broom cupboard."

Rita led herself out, chatting with Dumbledore and shouldering Marian aside, and Harry walked alongside Marian.

"Are you all right, Harry?"

"She is a _horrible_ reporter."

Marian sighed, "I know. And we're not the best people to have in the same room together."

Harry looked from one woman to the other. "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later." True, the story was far too long to be told properly in a single breath. She would have to wait until the ceremony was over. The other headmasters, the judges for this little farce, had arrived and now the ceremony could begin.

Actually, it was rather entertaining watching Ollivander weigh and inspect everyone's wands. They all had such fascinating strength and weaknesses. The old man was right, she would have done well as a wand maker. Marian grabbed a chair and sat herself as far from the reporter as possible, though she did notice that the photographer was eyeing her like he would very much like to take a picture of her. But Rita knew better. She knew if she ever ran another story with Marian's name in it again, never mind the reason, she would have Dumbledore to answer to. It was an old arrangement, but Marian could tell Rita was still afraid of the old headmaster.

Once everything was said and done, and Ollivander was finished with everyone's wands, Marain offered to walk Harry to the Great Hall for dinner, since the weighing had taken up almost the entire remainder of their classes. And while they walked, Marian explained her history with Rita Skeeter.

"Rita Skeeter is the one who wrote the story in the paper based on Fudge's report of the supposed happenings the night your parents died. She wrote the story that became accepted fact. It made her career, truth be told. But after her article ran the morning after it all happened, healers from St. Mungos came to the Ministry where I was awaiting a decision on where I was going to go and convinced Fudge to release me to them for spell damage, which of course he did if he didn't want his career to crash down around his ears."

Harry nodded in understanding. He remembered what he had learned about this witch the year before when he was getting the straight from her, Sirius and Remus in the Shrieking Shack before the summer. "So you hate her for it."

"Hate's a strong word; I think there are probably very few people I would attribute that kind of feeling toward. But Dumbledore did tell her when he freed me from St. Mungos that if she ever printed a single thing in the paper with my name in it again, for any reason, he would see to it her career came to a very abrupt and embarrassing end. She'd never cross him."

Harry and Marian stopped as they reached the Great Hall. "It must have been horrible," Harry said quietly. "Being in the hospital for nothing."

"They tried all kinds of anti-charms on me trying to break the supposed memory charm. They didn't hurt me, but it was exhausting. I was there for about four days. They kept me awake all the time because sleep or unconsciousness can cause a memory charm to worsen and make the affected person less likely to recover."

She looked over at Harry. His eyes seemed pained somehow. He understood tragedy better than most, she supposed. Marian should have figured he would empathize with her personal hardship, even if he couldn't directly relate. "Well," Marian said lightly. "Heading in?"

Something was troubling the boy. She could feel an uneasiness from him; a certain light touch of dread. Oh, that's right, Ron was being just as insensitive as some of the other students who thought Harry had put his name into the Goblet of Fire, if not worse. Their friendship was strained. Harry sighed. "Depends, are you?"

Marian really did have work to catch up on still. But the boy needed as many friends as he could muster at the moment, so she supposed she should go in an at least keep an eye on him.

As it turned out, Hermione was still in the hospital wing. Harry said Malfoy had cast a jinx on her teeth. They picked a spot at the end of Gryffindor table and started eating. While they did so, Karkaroff entered with Krum. Krum headed for the Slytherine table, and Karkaroff for the teachers'. Marian watched him pass their table, strutting like he were the master of the school, before saying softly to Harry, "Don't leave, I'll be right back."

Marian got up and caught up with Karkaroff just as he was walking up the steps. Most of the other teachers were deep in conversation with one another, or greeting those who were just arriving themselves to have noticed the transaction that would take place.

"Why Miss Knightly, fancy seeing you in the same room as myself," Karkaroff said smoothly. "I would have thought after scaring you off from our last encounter you would have gone out of your way to keep out of mine."

Marian followed him around his table and sat beside him. She knew it was Severus Snape's seat, but he was yet to arrive. "On the contrary," she said lightly. "I intend on keeping relatively close to you."

"Why is that my dear girl?"

"Because I don't trust you. I would have thought that was obvious."

Karkaroff laughed lowly and sipped from his goblet. He set it down and moved his hand to grasp Marian's, resting on the arm of her chair. "Let me tell you a secret, little girl," he said, not looking at her. His grasp was remarkably strong; Marian couldn't have pulled her hand away if she wanted to. "This is a dangerous game. And I don't mean the tournament. Someone with the kind of supernatural senses you have must have heard the rumors floating about in the wizarding world, and if you have more sense than the average imbecile, you will have guessed what it means." Now he did glance in her direction. He glanced before turning his head all together and leaning in close, whispering in Marian's ear. "You're in danger, little girl. And no one is going to be able to help you when the time comes."

"Something the matter, Igor?"

The voice that had spoken was cold and silky. Marian looked up. Severus was standing there. "Miss Knightly it would appear you're in my seat."

"It would seem I am," she said, giving her hand a great yank from Karkaroff's grip and standing up again. She looked to Karkaroff again. "I'll take your words under advisement."

As she was trying to leave, Severus grasped her hand and asked softly, lips to her ear, "Are you all right?"

Marian shifted her own lips to Severus ear and responded. "I'm fine but what does that matter to you?"

Without bothering to conceal his words this time, Severus smirked, saying, "Be in your tower tonight, at midnight. I'll come to see you then. We can talk."

Marian wondered what that was supposed to be about, but she simply removed herself from the teachers' table and descended the steps with a confused look on her face, which mustn't have changed once she sat back down, because Harry asked her, "What was that all about?"

"Truthfully," Marian said slowly, having suddenly lost her appetite, "I'm not sure I have any idea."

Harry was still not in the greatest mood when they parted ways for the night, but that was to be expected. Marian herself was not in the best of moods. Karkaroff was still oozing paranoia, and fear. But Seveus…everything she felt from his was unfamiliar. Normally she felt almost nothing but bitterness and pain. Tonight there was genuine concern. Concern for her, she supposed. But why? Well, if he made good on his word, Severus would tell her at midnight.

Marian made herself comfortable with a book and a throw blanket on the lone couch in her study room that took up the entire first floor of her lofted tower. It was only about eight. After devouring one novel she set it on the correct spot in her shelves and opened another one. Marian actually thought she was going to fall asleep before a knock would come along. But just as her eyes were getting heavy, the thumping on her door could be heard. Marian glanced at her clock. It was actually nearly on in the morning. Regardless, she got herself up and went to answer it.

Without asking for entry, Severus, still dressed in his black and billowing robes, pushed his way in.  
"My apologies, Marian," he said as she shut the door behind him. "Igor kept me in his ship drinking wine much longer than I thought he would." He turned his attention to her lit fireplace and couch. He walked toward it. "We need to speak."

"Considering that I have no idea what it is you want to speak of," Marian said, following him and sitting beside him on the sofa, "I would think you're the one that really needs to be speaking."

"Indeed." Severus considered her for a moment. "Marian, you should know something about Karkaroff. He was a Death Eater thirteen years ago."

"I know."

"Oh…well, then…hear me out. Karkaroff is dangerous. I doubt he will return to the life once The Dark Lord has been reborn. He betrayed too many loyal followers in exchange for his freedom. His only choice will be to run to a place he cannot be got to; highly impossible…or trade The Dark Lord something he desperately wants in return for his life. Not likely, but it could work out. If he had a big enough offering."

"Yeah," Marian said, drawing her knees into her chest. "I hear I'm a big fish where he's concerned. You and Sirius think an awful lot alike sometimes."

Severus' emotions immediately shifted from concern and unease, to anger and bitter disgust. "So, you did help that mangy old man. Tell me where did you hide him? I know you wouldn't have left him too far away."

"Nowhere you can get at him, Severus; I'm sorry," Marian responded brightly, trying to change his mood for the better. "And for what it's worth, I am very sorry for what I did to you last year. I hadn't counted on the kids doing the same thing at the same time. But I do think you taking credit for everything was a gross exaggeration. That Order of Merlin First Class of yours is for nothing but a lie."

Severus said nothing, but he exuded shame. So, Marian thought, he does feel badly about some of that night. Not all of it of course; otherwise the sense of shame would be much stronger. But he knew he didn't deserve his reward from that night. It was a start.

"Regardless of what has transpired between us, you were a brilliant student who has turned into a brilliant witch. I'd rather not see your life cut short because of a fool like Igor. I'd advise you to keep well away from him."

"Hm," Marian thought. "Sirius' advice was opposite that. He thinks if I hang around him I'll be more privy to him trying to make a move against me. Maybe be able to oppose him faster."

"Yes and if you can't you'll be in danger that much quicker. The fool and his useless advice…" Severus' arms were crossed over his chest. "Listen to him if you'd like, I came to offer my insight and wither you trust his over mine is of no concern to me."

Severus stood to go. His footsteps thunked confidently against the floorboards as he made for the door, but just as it was creaking open, Marian sat up on her knees and leaned against the back of the couch, calling out to him. "Severus…why did you come here to tell me this? What business is it of yours if I get captured for some twisted trade off to Voldemort?"

Severus paused with his back to her before turning and with a strange expression on his face, said, "It's like I said. You are a talented witch. I'd rather not see someone like you taken away from this world because of the likes of a coward." He paused. "You're a force of good in this world. You're too good for that."

Just like that he was gone, leaving her alone to contemplate this strange encounter. While she did, Marian decided that perhaps she wasn't the best judge of this character. Obviously neither was Sirius. So who could tell her what that whole conversation meant? Dumbledore certainly would just give her some cryptic answer. Marian lived in cryptic. In her more personal life, particularly one that could make good on the threat of death, Marian preferred a more frank answer.

Marian decided she would visit Remus the next day. He always seemed to be level-headed, even on the subject of Severus Snape. He might be able to offer her the wisdom she sought. She needed to know who was right. Was Sirius just curious to know what was going on, enough to put Marian in danger? Surely not. He would never have done something that reckless if he thought Karkaroff was actually dangerous to the point that Marian couldn't handle him on her own. He would never endanger her like that for information. Would he?

In the morning Marian dressed herself while the sun was rising and left the castle early. The walk to the end of the apparition barrier on the school, down to the front gates, was a long and chilly one. Sirius' cloak really did need mending. Maybe when she was finished with Remus she would stop by Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley. Oh she would be thrilled to see this old thing again…

Marian apparated the moment she was outside the gates and landed herself squarely on Remus' doorstep. Before she could reach up and knock though, the door opened.

"Sirius thought you might be coming. Sent some kind of pigeon with a note asking me to keep an eye out for you." Remus was standing in the doorway with a mug and a smile. He let Marian inside and she accepted the coffee from him.

"When did he send you that?"

"About a week or so ago," Remus said, closing the door. "It was a rather lengthy letter, detailing this tournament and Harry and all. But he wrote most earnestly about your safety. Wouldn't say precisely why. But he thought you might come by here asking if his advice is sound. Would have thought you would have shown up before now though."

Remus led Marian into the sitting room and they both sat on the shabby sofa. "Well," Marian started slowly, "I was all set to take Sirius' word for it that Karkaroff would be best handled at a close proximity…until Severus showed up at my tower last night at one in the morning and gave me the opposite advice. Now I'm not sure. Trust the man I love or trust the former spy who supposedly knows this pervert so well."

Remus shook his head. "Hold on, back up and start again. From the start of this whole thing."

Marian told him about the night the champions were chosen, her run in with Karkaroff, Sirius' advice, and Severus'. Telling it all again didn't quite help. She wanted to trust Sirius, but then… "I just don't know Remus," Marian agonized, setting her empty mug down on the coffee table in front of them. "Each of them has a great point, but each could have their own motives as well. Severus, well, I don't know what he could possibly get from making sure I stay out of harm's way he never quite cared that much before about anyone but himself. Sirius though…"Marian looked to Remus with a concerned glance. "He knows I'm talented, knows I'm strong. Could he be counting on me being able to handle Karkaroff if something should go wrong in exchange for information?"

Remus was sitting, arms crossed over his chest, thinking. After a moment he scratched his temple and smiled. "Severus, I couldn't say what it is he's thinking. But you have to admit that his advice is consistent with someone who does not want to see you hurt."

Yes, that was true. Marian could hardly argue with that.

"The question becomes why Sirius gave you the advice that he did." Remus leaned forward, close to Marian and said softly, "What do you think his motive is?"

Marian had to think about that for a moment. Yes he was suggesting she stick close, but then it was a tactic Sirius used to use on people he didn't trust way back in the day…

"_You said you weren't going to watch him anymore."_

_Marian and Sirius were, once again, standing outside some seedy shop, waiting for Sirius' not so seedy friend Remus to emerge. It was raining like hell and even though Sirius had lent Marian it was still colder than usual for early autumn. _

"_Look," Sirius said quietly, not taking his eyes away from the shop door from where they had hid themselves in an alley in Knockturn. "I'm still not convinced Remus isn't the one screwing us over. Until I know for sure I'm not letting him know where I am but I want to know where he is every second."_

_Marian sighed and shivered against the chill in the air. "This is ridiculous."_

_Sirius turned away from his watch on the shop door and bent down to look Marian in the eye. "Listen," he said gently. "I'm doing this to try and keep everyone I love safe. Including you." He clucked her under the chin. "I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if I didn't love you in some capacity don't you think?"_

_Marian had no idea what Sirius meant by that, but she did know that over his shoulder Remus was slipping out of the door of that seedy little shop on the corner of Knockturn Alley and out of sight. She nodded in his direction. "I _think___your quarry is escaping."_

_Sirius' head whipped around and he swore fiercely. But when it was clear no amount of optical searching was going to be enough to tell him where Remus had gotten to, and Marian's insistence that she didn't see much having to watch from over a shoulder, Sirius simply sighed and said, "I suppose we should get you out of this weather. After all, I doubt I'm very much of a good husband when my wife is sick. With the running nose and the pale skin and messed up hair, vomiting…"_

"_Gross."_

_They laughed together, walking through the rain toward the muggle London portal through the Leaky Cauldron pub. When they were through the crowded barroom and headed into the rain again, Sirius scooped Marian into his arms. "I forgot," he said, stepping outside again. "I never did carry my bride over a threshold."_

"_You know this is a phony marriage right?" Marian wrapped one arm around Sirius' neck and used the other to adjust the hood on her head._

"_I know," Sirius answered. "But it doesn't mean you can't have some fun along the way."_

"_Clean fun I hope."_

_They arrived at the motor bike and Sirius deposited Marian on the back of the seat. He lifted her chin with a finger and smiled. "I would never do anything to hurt you, insult you, or take advantage of you…You've had enough of that in your life. I should know how that feels..."_

Yes, Sirius had always been truthful with her and protected her. With his money, his attention, his life really. He had in fact offered to let her continue to stay with him in the woods instead of going back. Marian had volunteered to. Insisted on it even, for Harry's sake. Sirius had given the advice he did because that had always made him feel safe when he was afraid of someone. He was speaking from personal experience. That begged the motive for Severus' own suggestion. Was he speaking from experience as well? If he was, Marian was very likely to listen. After all, Severus knew this prick.

"I think Sirius was speaking from personal experience," Marian reasoned. She looked up to Remus. "He spent a lot of time following you when he thought you were a traitor. Dragged me along with him. He felt safer knowing you couldn't get the drop in him while he was watching you."

Remus chuckled and nodded. "Well in that case, his reasoning is perfectly sound." He sighed. "Now you need to decide which one of them is right."

"What do you think I should do?" Marian was earnest. She didn't know which approach was better. She tried to stay close but only got even more freaked out by the creep. Maybe she should take Severus' word for it and steer clear. Besides, if he came to her once of his own volition, she supposed chances were good he would come to her again if he caught wind of something that could harm her.

"I think I'll steer clear from him, if it's at all possible." Marian had spoken quietly. She was trying more to convince herself that she was making the right decision than anything else. "I tried to get chummy with him, Remus, but he doesn't really mind knowing someone's watching him closely when it's me, so I think I'll trust Severus on this one." Her eyes trailed to the floor. "He knows him after all, right?"

"It's your call," Remus said evenly. He reached out and took one of the hands resting in Marian's lap. She looked back up into his eyes and found him leaning closer. "Only you can make the call that's right for you, Marian."

His leaning, Remus', it was different from what she was used to. Sirius leaned close to her when he was feeling protective, Igor had done it out of lust for his prey, Severus had done it to her out of a mix of fear and something Marian couldn't quite define. Hell, she could even remember her father getting close to her like this when he was demonstrating his power, feeling in control. But Remus. This was something else entirely. Marian's read on his emotions wasn't flat, but there was nothing to define either. It wasn't love, it wasn't lust, fear or anything else she could define. There was no ulterior motive behind his words; nothing he was leaving unsaid.

Remus was being completely, transparently honest. Advice from one person to another without judgment or personal investment.

"I knew I was right coming to you, Remus. You're the most level-headed person I know."

"I'm glad." Remus patted her hand once and rose to his feet. "Another coffee?"

"No," Marian said. "I need to get this cloak mended again. Madam Malkin's always at her worst later on in the day. And I'd like to get back to the school as soon as possible anyway. If Harry needs someone to talk to I'd like to be around."

Marian left the cabin, got her cloak fixed at the shop (indeed, the old witch was very displeased to see the cloak again, as predicted), and headed back to the school. It was a relatively calm day it seemed. Nothing out of the ordinary. Besides, if Harry needed him for more than the general dislike he had been receiving from some of his classmates and his ongoing row with Ron, he could find her in her tower, where she always was. Catching up on her lost work with those gemstones.

As it turned out the gems Marian had wasted good money on experimenting with didn't turn up much. It seemed that when she brought them to the Death Chamber one by one over the course of the week. There were several instances of voices coming through, a little more clearly for her than usual. But Marian still couldn't make them out, have a conversation, no visions. But it was more progress than her theories generally turned up. The iolite pendant she had been wearing was one of the strongest. Onyx also seemed to be relatively useful. The rest were junk. Pretty, but junk. After the week was over and Marian had sent her report to Jergon, she sealed the gems in a jar with a charm and set them on a shelf. Then she had to hurry and clean herself up. She had to be down in the village with Sirius in a little over an hour to meet him for meeting Harry. It was almost midnight already.

Almost one in the morning and no one was around. That was a good thing. Fortunately the house was as empty as Marian had expected it would be. She waited in the shadows around one side of the two story building for Sirius. Before long a black dog came trotting up to her. He was carrying something in his mouth, which he dropped on the semi-frozen ground. It was something Marian had made sure to give him a long time ago…

"_I have something for you, Sirius."_

_Marian, dressed in her pink and white striped pajamas, extended her gift for Sirius. Sirius looked up from the paper he was reading while making himself comfortable on the couch for the night, well away from where Marian slept (as of yet uninterested in violating Marian's privacy in James and Lily's bedroom; he married her, but she was still a child) and accepted what she was giving him. It was a penknife. Marian sat beside him and gently took the Prophet from his hands to set the paper on the coffee table. _

"_This is something I bought myself once when I was in Diagon Alley with my mother when she was still, you know, okay. It can open any locked door, even the ones that are protected by Alohomora. It can untie any knot." Marian smiled up at Sirius. "Promise you'll carry that with you."_

"_Why though?" Sirius handed it out to her. "I'm a good wizard, I hardly think I'll have use of this. You should have it."_

_Marian rested her hand over Sirius' and made him clasp his fingers around it tighter. "Why do I need this when I have you? You following Remus around, visiting Peter like you do…I'll feel better knowing you have this."_

_Sirius nodded and slung his arm over Marian's shoulders, drawing her close. "Thanks, love." He paused. "You know, Peter's a safe person, Marian. I know he's a little iffy; certainly his behavior can often be questionable. He doesn't rate very well on social aptitude. But trust me when I tell you that he's safe."_

"_Just take it with you when you visit him tomorrow."_

"_How about this," Sirius pulled away from Marian a little so he could look her in the eye. "You can come with me, and I'll bring this. You protect me against the big, bad, rolly-poly, scardy-cat wizard, and I'll protect you from the real villains out there."_

_Marian considered him seriously. But when her resolve softened, she cast her eyes down. "Sirius, can I ask you to sleep upstairs with me tonight?" _

_Sirius hardly knew what to say. Marian was just a young girl. She was his wife, yes, but it was for money and security, not for…all those other things. In his silence, Marian clarified; something she did best._

"_Not like pervy sleeping with me. it's just…with things getting so bad out there, I just feel safer when I'm with you as opposed to being alone." She met his eyes again, smiling innocently with a note of embarrassment. But it was only for a quick moment before she pushed herself off the sofa and started walking away. "I'm sorry," she spoke quickly. "That was a terrible thing to ask of you and now I've embarrassed you. I can feel it."_

_But as she was retreating, Sirius found his courage, his words. He stood up and tried to speak but she ran from him and bounded up the staircase. With a sigh, Sirius calmly walked up the stairs and into James and Lliy's room on the immediate right. He could see before he even opened the door that she had shut the lights already._

_He opened the door slowly, knowing there was no possible way Marian was sleeping yet. She never slept until late. The condition of the world as she knew it at the moment kept her up at night, astute child that she was._

_Sirius slipped inside and closed the door again. "Marian? I know you're not sleeping." He approached the bed and sat beside the form of the girl whose safety and livelihood he had found himself responsible for. "Just talk to me."_

_Suddenly, unexpectedly, Marian not only sat bolt upright, but threw herself into Sirius' arms. He held her as she cried and said into his shoulder, "Oh, Sirius! I just have this horrible feeling that something terrible is about to happen! It's so overwhelming; so foreboding!" She pulled away from him, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't go to Peter's tomorrow! Something is going to happen to you if you do! Check on James and Lily if you want, Sirius, but please don't go to Peter!"_

"_Okay," Sirius said, trying to maintain a calm voice and a low octave as he brushed the tears from Marian's face. "Okay, all right calm down." Marian coughed and hitched, but the tears were slowing to a stop. It seemed the more Sirius reassured her, the calmer she got. "I won't go to Peter's tomorrow. I promise. We'll see James, Lily, and Harry instead. Peter's hidden, so as long as James and Lily are safe, so if he right? Come on, love," he held her close again, letting her rest her head on his chest as he leaned back against the pillows. "Everything is going to be all right."_

_He kissed her head. Kissed her hair. Sirius lifted her chin and their slate grey eyes that matched so eerily well met in close proximity. "I will never, ever, do anything get myself taken away from you. I made a promise to you that I would look after you. I'm not going anywhere."_

_It was such a strange occurrence, but it felt so natural. He was mere inches from her face, and after this declaration of, well, commitment he supposed, Sirius leaned in a little closer and pressed his lips against Marian's. After a second or two they parted and Sirius was immediately apologizing. "I'm so sorry Marian, you have to know that I'm not like that, I have no interest in doing anything like that to you or with you or…"_

_But instead of scaring her off or getting a cold glare, Marian just hugged him tighter and said, "It's okay. I don't think I've ever been loved by anyone. And while I have no intentions of doing anything like that with you, it's good to know someone loves me in some capacity. I've never felt that before." Her voice was getting heavy; Marian was dropping off to sleep. "And I love you too Sirius. I really do love that you're the person looking out for me."_

She had given Sirius this knife a long time ago, just before the events that transpired that horrible night. Before they got woken up by Death Eaters breaking into the house and ran off to try and find Peter. Before they saw the carnage at Godric's Hollow. Before her life changed for the worse. That knife had been slipped into her pocket by Sirius right before he was dragged off by aurors. Marian didn't find it until the next morning when she was alone in the Ministry of Magic, watching her life fall apart. She almost always had it with her after Dumbledore managed to get her personal affects back. Sirius must have lifted it from her bag before she took it with her after their argument in the caves.

Marian picked up the penknife and opened it. She slid the blade up and down in the crevice of the service door she was standing in front of and when it was open she let Sirius trot by her before slipping inside herself and shutting and locking the door behind her.

"I hope you don't mind I lifted it from your bag," Sirius said, transformed back into a man. "I thought I might need it. I mean after all, I don't have a wand out here."

Marian whipped around and pulled Sirius into an insistent kiss. After several long, drawn out moments when they finally came up for air, Sirius raised his eyebrows. "That was unexpected."

"I missed you. And I feel bad about how we left things last time." Marian walked through the shop, weaving through shelves boasting a wide array of second hand items. The stairs in the back led up to the living quarters. They made their way upstairs to the flat, complete with living space, kitchen, and a master bedroom in the back. There was a pot on the mantle; the floo powder Marian presumed.

There was tension in the air. Enough to cut with a knife. Marian scarcely knew what to say. She was still uncomfortable with Sirius' suggestion about Karkaroff. She sat in an armchair and sighed, "You're going to be late." Marian nodded to the pot on the mantle.

"I have a few minutes," Sirius said, considering a clock hanging on the wall. He turned and smiled toward Marian, admiring her silhouette in the moonlight. "Besides, I want to get this out."

Marian had no idea what Sirius was talking about. He walked over to her and knelt before her, taking her face in his hands. "Marian, my darling…I have done a lot of thinking about what I told you. About Karkaroff. You shouldn't be anywhere near him. I know you're more than capable of handling yourself against the garden variety nut job but…Karkaroff was ruthless back in the day. A coward, for certain, but no less dangerous for it. Regardless of my wanting to perhaps get some information about him from you, well, it's not worth that. It's not worth your safety. Your life. I can stand not knowing what that bastard is up to, but I could never bear it if I lost you now."

"Oh Merlin," Marian sighed. "I was right."

Sirius released her and asked, "Right about what?"

"You wanted information," Marian said coldly. "You were going to try and use me to get at what Karkaroff's going to be up to while he's here." She stood and stepped over Sirius to gain some distance. She had thought it was a possibility that he had been using her, but Marian deep down didn't think it was possible. "If you wanted information why not just share that?"

She could hear Sirius stand up behind her. "I didn't think you'd go along with it if you knew."

"Go figure." Marian looked at the clock. "You're going to be late."

As a matter of fact, he was. Sirius walked to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo power out of the pot on the mantle. Marian leaned against the far wall and listened into the conversation as best she could.

"Sirius—how are you doing?"

"Never mind me, how are you?"

Harry certainly had a lot to tell Sirius. He didn't know that Sirius knew about half of what he had to say but it did the boy good to get some things off his chest. He had just gotten to the part about the first task being something involving dragons when he finally stopped to breathe. Sirius said nothing at this for a moment, then he seemed to glance backward toward Marian. "Did you know about this?"

Marian simply shook her head. Sirius had turned his enough so that he could see her answer, silent as it were.

"Who's back there?" Harry asked suddenly. Marian guessed that he was concerned over his godfather being caught.

"It's just Marian, Harry. She came out here tonight to keep an eye on me while I use this fireplace and talk to you. Dragons we can deal with, Harry, and we'll get to that in a minute—I haven't got long here…we broke into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back any time. There are things I need to warn you about."

Sirius spoke about Karkaroff. Seemed he had decided that Harry needed to know about him. His past. The idea that he put Harry's name in. Marian still wasn't convinced, but since it wasn't outside the realm of possibility it had to be established. Besides, mastermind behind all this or not Karkaroff was dangerous. Harry should be aware of that.

He talked about Bertha Jorkins. About how Voldemort might have learned about the tournament through her if he caught her. then they talked about dragons. It couldn't be done with a stunner by one person. But there was a way. But as he was explaining about the stunners, Harry must have stopped him from speaking. In a hushed tone Marian thought she heard him say someone was coming and Sirius needed to leave. Without a word, Sirius pulled his head out of the fireplace and swore, glancing up at Marian who was still leaning against a wall. "I didn't get a chance to tell him about how he can use his Firebolt. He's a damn good flier. All he's going to need is a summoning charm. You'll tell him, won't you?"

Marian nodded and straightened up, heading for the door that led back down to the shop. They had done as they intended, spoken to Harry. Now they had to leave before the couple who ran the place showed up. It was going on two in the morning.

"Marian come on, talk to me here. Throw me a bone."

Sirius was trying to cut the tension with jokes. Marian stopped and turned. She was halfway to the door. "Sirius, you used me as bait."

Sirius was standing in front of the fireplace. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know I did. I felt bad the minute you were gone that day but I had no way of trying to reach you. Harry's owls are the only ones that come for me and I couldn't send word back with one of them and risk that he'd see it before you." He wouldn't meet her eyes, but Marian could feel the guilt pouring from him. He truly did rue the fact that he tried to use her like that. He was telling the truth.

"Sirius, listen, I know why you did what you did. Harry was a priority in your life before we ever even met. You're trying to keep him safe. So am I. I'm hurt that you thought I would not agree to your idea, enough so that you would provide me advice under false pretenses. Just talk to me next time okay? You might be surprised how often I agree with you. Haven't you been so far?"

Sirius looked up and walked toward Marian. His expression was one of confusion. "You…thought it was a good idea?"

Marian folded her arms and shrugged. "Well no, but if we were going to learn if he was guilty or not, it would have been the easiest way. And frankly, I didn't think it would be so dangerous until the night I talked to him at dinner. My coyness, my lack of fear, it only egged him on. He's far more dangerous than I gave him credit for. The difference is, you knew from the beginning what he was like. You knew it could go badly." Her arms fell. "Just talk to me next time."

Sirius finally caught up to her and drew her into a hug. It was gentle, lacking in the strong never-let-you-go quality that she had become familiar with. He was being cautious with her. Making sure she wasn't angry with him anymore. But he did whisper a question to her. "Do you think Karkaroff is the one who put Harry's name in?"

"I don't know," Marian answered quietly, pulled back to see Sirius' weather worn, tired face. "I don't think so. His emotions are all over the map and none of them scream that he's innocent, but something has him a little derailed and he has been talking to Severus in private quite a lot. If Voldemort is back the marks on their arms might be burning. If the fact scares Karkaroff that tells me he had no indication the time had come and he's exploring his options, which boil down to me as you thought. I don't think he knew, therefore, I don't think it was him. As to who though, I can't say."

Sirius grasped her hands and pulled her back in slowly, touching his lips to hers. It was cautious, as though it was the first time he had kissed her. And while Marian wasn't thrilled with Sirius, she couldn't deny she had missed him, had been lonely, been worried all that time in the castle. She felt alone. As Marian softened and pressed herself into Sirius he started roaming his hands over her body. He slid them over her lower back, downward to cup her buttocks and before Marian knew it she was being lifted into Sirius' arms.

"Sirius," Marian said quietly, though with a warning tone. "This isn't our house, what happens if the owners come back? It's getting late."

But Sirius had walked her backward and pinned her against the wall. "Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Not getting caught."

Sirius groaned and rested himself against Marian, who giggled a little and held him with one arm behind his back and another at the nape of his neck. "Come on darling," she said soothingly. "We need to get you back to your cave and out of the danger of someone finding you having broken into a house."

It was difficult to get him to agree, but Sirius finally agreed to leave the house and head back to his hiding place. Once he was settled, Marian headed back to the castle before she would be missed. They were fortunate in that the homeowners hadn't come back when they had left, though wither they would realize they had been broken into or not remained to be seen. The point was no one saw Sirius come or go so he was safe.

Marian was going to have to try and find Harry in the morning and make sure he knew about the summoning charm. He was going to need the help.

THE TROUBLE WITH EXPERIMENTING

Marian barely had time to try and find Harry in the morning. When she awoke she had had a revelation in her dreams about the gems she had been experimenting with and had to get started preparing an extra experiment for later in the evening. She did however ensure that she bump into Hermione outside her Runes class later on in the afternoon and let Hermione know how a summoning charm could be used by Harry in the upcoming task. The thought of the task was already churning her stomach, but Sirius' idea was definitely a good one.

With the iolite around her neck and the onyx ready for a visit to Knockturn Alley, Marian delivered her message and headed out. Hopefully Dorian Shape would be willing to work with something that had already been used in experimentation. Once Marian was outside the castle limits, she opted for the Knight Bus, since she frequently apparated to the wrong spot when she was headed for Knockturn. She took the bus to the Leaky Cauldron, and made her way through the back of the pub to Diagon Alley.

It was going on dinnertime, so there wasn't much by the way of shoppers at this hour, and Knockturn wouldn't be busy until much, much later. Perfect. Nearly to the end of the narrow walkway was a small hole in the wall shop by the name of _Shape's_. The owner, Dorian Shape, was a master jeweler. He often sold estate pieces with dark powers or conotations, and he also made gems with power into something wearable for the owner. Marian was already working with an iolite pendant, so she was hoping this onyx, roughly the size of the head of a classical teaspoon, into a ring of some sort.

Marian stepped inside and a tiny bell pinged from the door jamb above her head. Almost immediately, Dorian appeared. He was rather tall, lanky, not old nor young, but with grey hair tied at the nape of his neck into a ponytail and an extremely well-tailored robes accented by a sinister green vest beneath the coat. Marian almost wished she had worn her red robes, but no, she had opted for green. The red ones usually made her look bustier and by which she could get almost anything she wanted. The green ones were her real charmer though. Subtle, but with tightness in all the right places and elegance left up to the texture in the satin.

"Well, Miss Knightly," Dorian said, reaching for her hand after removing his magnifying goggles and wiping dust from his hands. Marian took it and accepted a kiss on her hand, not failing to notice his debonair grin as he righted himself. "You always look so ravishing in green. Don't geniuses have a love for that color?"

"So I've heard," Marian responded with a smile.

"So, my dear, buying or selling today?"

Dorian stepped behind his counter and Marian approached the case with a dazzling array of amethyst, onyx, and sapphires, among other things. "Neither," she spoke confidently. "I actually have a custom job for you."

This piqued Dorian's interest. "Ooh, do you indeed?" He reached out his hand. "Let's see it then." Marian extracted the onyx from her shoulder bag and rested it in his hand. Dorian examined its proportions with bare eyes first, then lifted a loupe from his breast pocket and looked closer.

"The proportions are perhaps a little large for a pendant. It would make an eye catching ring, though. Has something…happened to this?"

Busted, Marian thought. Dorian always knew. "I experimented with it a bit a few weeks ago."

"Don't suppose I could ask what you did with it?"

Marian shook her head. "Classified, I'm afraid. Can it still be cut?"

Dorian sighed and removed the loupe from his eye. "Well yes, but I trust nothing unwanted is going to be unleashed on my shop." He cast a warning glance at Marian.

"Of course not, Dorian. You can trust me."

The middle aged man chuckled. He knew as well as she did that he had no idea what kind of business she was in and therefore had no reason to ever think that anything she brought him to work on would be safe. But her gold was not only good, but plentiful, so he put up with her for the income. They had a friendly don't ask don't tell policy. Dorian didn't ask about the reason she asked him to find such unusual and often reputably dangerous gemstones and what she did with them, and Marian didn't tell.

"So what kind of design were you thinking about, my dear?"

Marian shrugged. "I need it for tonight, so whatever you can do to it quickly. No frills. I need it by about eleven. Can you get something done by then?"

Dorian stroked his chin. "Perhaps. This stone, to channel magic properly and at maximum power, needs to be recut with proportional facets. And that's before I set it into the gold setting for a ring."

"Can it be done?"

Dorian smiled that unnerving, dashing smile that made him look so handsome in a dangerous looking way. "Of course I can."

Marian left the stone in Dorian's capable hands and strolled up and down Diagon Alley. She had a good six hours to kill. Too bad she couldn't spend them in the pub; a drink would do her nerves some good. Instead she visited the various shops before settling into an armchair in Flourish and Blotts with a book on ancient magic.

Flourish and Blotts closed at nine, leaving Marian some more time to kill. She was getting hungry, that was for sure. So it was back to the pub for a bite before collecting her merchandise. After a bowl of beef stew and just one tiny glass of wine, it was finally time to head back to Knockturn. Just in time; it was due to start getting a little rowdy in the Leaky Cauldron.

Walking into the shop again, this time at night, was quite different. Candles inside were lit and Dorian was finishing his books for the day. Wither they were the real ones or the fake ones was hard to say, but that was none of Marian's concern anyway. "Evening, Dorian."

He looked up and promptly closed the book on the counter. The real one then, it would seem, Marian thought. "Ah, I was just waiting for you before closing up for the night." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a polished wood box. He laid it on the counter and lifted the lid for Marian to inspect his work.

It was actually quite beautiful. Dorian had recut the stone to be a more conventional oval shape and the facets were not only proportioned beautifully, but polished quite well. The stone had been placed into a white gold setting with curling accents along the shank and head culminating in four pairs of bypassing prongs elongated from a split shank. It was stunning given the time he had.

"You must have put off every other project you had, Dorian," Marian said appreciatively, lifting the box to look closer. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you, Miss Knightly, I thought so. And now…"

"Of course." Marian closed the box and set it inside her shoulder bag before extracting a small leather bag filled with galleons. She was paying him ten for procurement services on top of the worth of the stones he found, but his custom works cost her twenty-five galleons every time. Fortunately she didn't do this often. After handing the bag to Dorian, she bid him a good night and exited the store, leaving him to his book cooking.

Marian loved being in the Ministry at night. No one was around really, save for the occasional worker finishing a report. But in general by midnight, as it now was, no one was about to stumble onto Marian's work which was why she preferred to do her work overnight. Marian walked through the halls and corridors, making her way to her department and enjoying the clicking of her heels on the marble floor.

The actual department was treacherous to walk through if one didn't know where they were going. The first room was a circular room in which the doors spin to different places every time someone came in. If you didn't know which door was yours, you could be in for a hell of a long dangerous night. The black painted wood door landed to Marian's right tonight, and she opened it to the Death Chamber with not only a little relief. The chamber had a certain calming effect on Marian. Something about the quiet. Marian lifted her wand and lit the lanterns separately before setting her bag down and getting to work, placing the onyx ring on her finger and sitting herself before the archway with the veil hanging in between the columns..

Since onyx was an excellent shield for negativity, it should keep Marian from getting dragged into the depressing feeling being around the veil could sometimes communicate. The iolite was more unusual, providing endurance to adverse situations and kept the bearer from getting disoriented. Her goal for the night was to see if by combining the iolite and the onyx she could communicate solidly with someone on the other side of the veil.

Too bad it didn't work out that way.

As it turned out, Marian could not recall what had happened. All she knew was she woke in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, and it was midmorning judging from the sunlight streaming in through the windows.

"Well, good morning," a voice said from across the large airy room. Marian turned her head on her pillow to look and see who it was. Dumbledore drew closer to her and Marian lifted herself to a sitting position, not quite realizing before then that her head was pounding. Dumbledore grinned amusedly at her slight grimace before sitting on the edge of Marian's bed. "You really should not be experimenting alone, Marian my dear. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"What happened?"

"We're not sure," Dumbledore answered quietly. "Frankly, no one but you was scheduled to work in the chamber for the week. You were in there unfound for almost a week as far as we could tell. When Boderick found you, you were crumpled on the floor and that iolite necklace of yours was pulsating. Seems it kept you alive all that time."

Marian was barely listening. She was doing math in her head and the answer scared her enough to cause her to yell out, "I missed the first task?!"

"You did, my dear," Dumbledore said with a quieting hand on her cheek. "Harry did very well, as a matter of fact. Used a summoning charm to conjure up his broom. The dragon got loose, but he lost it and made it back to collect his clue for the second task, no the worse for wear."

Marian sighed and slumped into her pillows. "I'd rather hear it from him," Marian croaked out.

"In good time. You're lucky to be alive."

"Lucky," Marian halfheartedly repeated. Frankly this seemed like a general workplace hazard to her, but then others clearly didn't see it that way. Maybe the others were right. She was after all apparently in a coma for a week.

"Very. Once again I implore you to consider teaching. At least if something were to happen to you or anyone else you would be covered."

It was true, many times Unspeakables would find themselves paying quite a lot of money for expensive procedure to save life or limb due to workplace accidents because the Ministry refused to cover them. Which is why Marian was in the hospital wing at the school, she was sure. Long stays were quite pricy and her gold was better spent on her texts and experimental materials. Marian thanked Dumbledore for the thought. "But I think I'd rather recuperate in my own bed if you don't mind."

With a slight chuckle, Dumbledore replied, "Of course! I had planned on it. Naturally I have no one who can look after you without being missed, and I'd rather not invite speculation with Rita Skeeter about."

"Definitely," Marian agreed with a roll of the eyes.

"So I've arranged for someone no one knows is going to be here to look after you until we can straighten you up."

"Really," Marian responded lightly. "Who?"

VOICES

Harry visited Marian in the hospital wing later that day to regale his godmother of the task and persuade her that he was perfectly well. He also shared the next clue with her, though he was not necessarily supposed to. Marian promised she would mull it over and let him know if she thought of anything. She was mulling it over at the very moment.

"_Screeching?"_

_Harry nodded. "It sounds like a banshee or something."_

"_No," Marian countered. "Banshees sound like something musical. Horribly painful to the ears of course, but somewhat musical. And they're not really native to this area. Must be something else."_

"_Yeah and I have to figure out what before the next task."_

"_Take all the help you can get and if I think of something I send a message along."_

"You're supposed to be resting."

Sirius had climbed the stairs back from the bathroom and seemed to be ready to chastise Marian for her lack of self-minding. He had however done as she asked and retrieved the scissors from the medicine cabinet. "I'm still not sure of how I feel about you cutting my hair darling."

"It's unruly," Marian insisted hoarsely, pushing herself to sitting and spreading her legs apart. She slapped the mattress between them. "Come and sit."

Sirius did, reluctantly handing the scissors over his shoulder and bracing himself as Marian started cutting.

And while she cut, she thought more and more about the screeching in the golden egg. Not that she wasn't concentrating, but puzzling was something her mind was always doing. Not that the constant barrage of nerves and anxiety wafting off of Sirius. Honestly, it was just hair…

As Marian was finishing up, she brushed stay hair off Sirius' shoulders and released her husband from her clutches, staring out the window through which she could see the lake in the distance. Sirius used Marian's wand to clear the hair from the duvet and return to the bed to sit beside Marian.

"You should rest darling," he said, sitting beside her and planting a kiss on her forehead. Figuring she couldn't argue with him forever, she did as she was told and snuggled further beneath her covers, resting her head on Sirius' stomach and letting him stroke her hair. Fresh clothes and clean appearances made him look like his old self again. It certainly made Marian's blood run hot. Of course, now they had a room all to themselves for an indeterminate amount of time and Marian was not cleared by Madam Pomfrey to do anything but rest in bed. No raising her blood pressure, her heart rate, nothing.

It took quite some time for Marian to start turning around. Whatever had happened in the Death Chamber, it had done a number on her. She was tired and weak and suffering terrible, debilitating headaches for nearly a month later. This meant no work. Fortunately Boderick was very understanding as her work had proven to be so valuable and no one could do what she could for the department.

Harry stopped by on occasion for visits, during which Sirius would be locked inside the wardrobe. There was one occasion when he was there for over an hour and came out demanding a head scratch as payment from Marian, to which she obliged out of a slight sense of guilt.

She hadn't figured out the clue for Harry yet. But she had been so riddled with pain in her skull of late it was rather difficult to concentrate on much of anything. But one thing Harry did have to report one afternoon was rather interesting. The Yule Ball had been announced.

Marian would likely not be able to attend the ball. It was a shame she had certainly wanted to. Besides, the Weird Sisters were playing and she knew them rather well. She had been close to Myron Wagtail in school, of all people. He was a little strange himself, so he didn't worry so much about Marian's reputation. Even so, Marian went through bouts of keeping her distance. In the past couple years, since Sirius escaped really, they had lost touch. It would have been nice to see him.

Harry had been in awe of her personal connections. After talking about their music and the prospects of asking Cho Chang to the ball, Harry left and Sirius emerged after a signal from Marian.

"Shame that," Sirius said. "Didn't know you knew Myron Wagtail. How did that happen?"

"He was a little strange himself in school. We were a lot alike. Really my only friend, maybe ever."

Sirius made himself comfortable on the bed beside Marian and slung an arm over her shoulders. Marian stifled a yawn and before she could fall asleep, Sirius said softly, "You should go. Even if it's only for a little while. It would be fun. You should see your old friend."

"Maybe," Marian whispered as she dropped off.

Marian was getting better despite her exhaustion and when her special potion she ordered from Sirius didn't want to know who, her headaches were finally under control. It started to look as though Marian would be able to attend the ball for a while anyway. Sirius would have to wait in the room, but he agreed to stay in the castle until the day after Christmas. He would have to start hiding out again after Marian was well enough to be seen out and about. The ball would be her first outing since she collapsed at the Ministry.

Poor Sirius spent quite a lot of time in the wardrobe the week before the ball. Marian had a fitting with Madam Malkin in her tower, as she could not muster the strength to go to the shop and she had no dress robes. The ones she chose were lovely. The robe was bright white and covered in rhinestones top to floor length bottom, and sleekly hugging her body in all the right places. Marian also chose a crystal studded hair arrangement, attachable with a ribbon to be tide at the nape of her neck. The effect was completed by a pair of studded shoes, with just enough heel to be comfortable and yet extremely attractive, in Sirius' opinion. She was a glittering angel.

"Trying to impress someone are we?" he asked while helping her store the gown in the wardrobe.

"Not really," Marian shrugged. "I'd just like to look nice. It sounds silly, but this ball sounds like what I always wished my wedding would have been like. Naturally that was never going to happen in the arrangement we had, but it's a night to feel special."

The minute she said it Marian wished she hadn't. There was a wave of guilt crashing into her from Sirius. Understandably. They had wed to keep Marian in the hands of the right people, to make sure she was provided for. And because she had been eleven years old, because her parents hadn't been able to approve and she had to emancipate herself first, because of who Sirius was and the condition of the world at the time…it was just never in the cards. Since Sirius had grown to love her, she was sure he wished he could have done more for her, been there and given her everything she had ever wanted. But she didn't need to bring it up to him. He knew better than anyone.

"I'm sorry Sirius. You're the best man I've ever known. You did something no one should have ever asked of you thirteen years ago and I can never repay you for everything. I'm just glad to have the man I love back." Marian embraced Sirius and kissed him long and passionately before sweeping on her dressing gown and saying, "I hope you don't mind, but Myron is coming by. He heard I was here and wants to see me, run some old music by me for the ball. Just stay up here and stay quiet, all right? Can't have him finding you here."

When Marian was gone and the door was closed, Sirius got to thinking. He was sure Marian was going to have a wonderful time at the ball. Obviously Sirius couldn't enjoy it with her. But…

Maybe he could do something even better for her. Sirius listened as Marian greeted Myron at her door downstairs and rushed to her bed chamber fireplace. He tossed some of the floo powder from the jar on the mantle in the fire and stuck his head in, calling for Dumbledore's private fireplace in his office. Fortunately the old wizard was there.

"Make it fast, we don't know if her fireplace is secure," Dumbledore said.

"I was wondering if you could come through here for the next hour and meet with me. I want to do something nice for Marian on Christmas and I'm going to need some help."

A grin passed across the old Wizard's face. "Of course."

Dumbledore stepped through, locked the door and silenced the room from anyone overhearing them, and they got to work.

A week later, Sirius helped Marian dress for the ball and saw her off from the bedroom door. Her hair was curled and smoothed over her crown before the curls draped in a short curtain at the nape of her neck. But before she could depart he asked her to wait a moment. He stepped up to her and stroked her powdered cheek lightly. "You are so beautiful. You always are but tonight…you look gorgeous."

Marian kissed him by way of a thank you and left the room. With his wife gone, Sirius could get started on the preparations he and Dumbledore had arranged the week before. Marian was going to be so surprised.

Meanwhile, Marian was making her way through the school, which was relatively deserted by now, and making her way toward the back door to the Great Hall behind the teachers' table. The stage had been set up on the riser where their table usually sat and Myron and the rest of the band were supposedly going to be there waiting for the formal dances to wrap up before taking the stage.

There was a lot of bustle going on with setting up, but fortunately the arrival of Marian could hardly be noticed.

"Marian!" Myron called her over from where he stood with who Marian remembered as Kirley Duke. He had been in school a year behind her and Myron. Myron excused himself and came to greet her, kissing each of her cheeks and taking both her hands in his. "Glad to see you made it, was thinking you might be tired."

"Wouldn't miss this," Marian said looking around at the lights and the stage setting. "I should have reached out a long time ago, it's been too long."

"You sure you still want to sing?"

Marian nodded eagerly as the orchestra was starting to wind down from their half of the night. The crew was beginning to clear and Myron walked Marian over to one side of the stage. "Stay here, when I call you out go up those stairs and I'll be waiting up there for you."

"Okay," Marian said a little nervously.

Myron winked at her as the rest of the band was taking their places. "You'll be great."

When everyone was ready, when Professor Flitwick had made the introduction, the curtain went up and they started playing. It was loud, it was raucous, and it was the most fun Marian had experienced in quite some time.

After a couple of songs Myron called out to the crowd. "Are you all having a good time so far?!"

Cheering ensued.

"Well hold onto your hats, because we've got one more person we need to introduce for the night. But first I have a little story to tell. About thirteen years ago, I started school right here where we're at." More cheering. "And I didn't fit in so well at first. I was a bit of an odd duck. But I did have one friend who stuck with me, through thick and thin, all seven years. Imagine my surprise and delight to hear she would be in attendance tonight. I believe many of you know her as a seer, an Unspeakable, a mysterious woman. To me, she's a dear friend. And she's going to sing a couple songs with us tonight. let's hear it for Marian Knightly!"

To Marian's surprise there was a considerable amount of cheering for her. She hadn't expected that. She thought it was going to be more like a polite applause. She walked out into the lights and saw the sea of students cheering and going wild. Upon reaching Myron, Marian stepped up beside the microphone with him. "How are you all doing tonight?"

More cheering. Jeez, don't they ever get tired of that, Marian thought.

"Well when we were in school Myron and I used to sing together. He thought it might be nice to resurrect some of the oldies we wrote together."

"And naturally I couldn't do it without her. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

"All right, Hogwarts. This one is called _Number Game_."

It actually went quite well in Marian's opinion. They sang a couple of the old songs they had rehearsed the week before, the band played the extra music Myron had written for them. And after the few selections Marian thought she was done and was ready to say goodbye. She was ready to, apparently Myron wasn't.

"I know we're just about done with you, Marian but don't go just yet. I have to tell you Hogwarts, she is a talented songwriter. In fact there's a ballad she wrote sometime in our final year at school that I have finally put some music to the lyrics and if we're all really nice to her…maybe she'll sing it for us."

Marian could feel herself going flushed. What song was he talking about?

"Come on darling. Sing _Counting on Crows _for us won't you?"

Amid the cheers from the students, Marian could have shot Myron. That song was so long ago, she would be surprised if she remember the lyrics. Myron waved his hand behind him and a baby grand piano appeared. Sitting on the music stand were her lyrics. Of course…

Marian sighed. "Well since you've gone to all the trouble," she said sarcastically into the mic, "I can hardly say no, can I?"

More cheers while Myron led Marian over to the piano and bade her to take a seat beside him. There was another mic, though shorter, sitting on the piano top, facing the two of them ready to catch every word.

Myron started playing. The melody was actually quite beautiful, and thankfully, leading. Without the drums or the guitars going it was easy to eke out where he meant for the words to go.

"Cry me a river at dawn. Silhouette sinking , tonight I'll be thinking of you.

"Cry me a river in the smallest hours where blackbirds unite taking their flight over this old house."

"Sometimes we sing, sometimes we cling to the cracked, broken sounds of the crows standing out in the cold. I'll be clinging to crows 'cause god only knows that the songbirds have all flown away and today the crows will stay.

"Cry me a river. It sounds just like you, simpering , sighing and me just complying for you.

"Cry me a river. I'm done with this part. I'm playing my own game and I've grown without you."

"Sometimes we sing, sometimes we cling to the cracked, broken sounds of the crows standing out in the cold. I'll be clinging to crows 'cause god only knows that the songbirds have all flown away and today the crows will stay.

"Cry me a river. Don't call me again. I'm looking ahead to the stars over head for my new plan.

"Cry me a river. I hate how this sounds. Without you around I've finally found who I am.

"Sometimes we sing, sometimes we cling to the cracked, broken sounds of the crows standing out in the cold. I'll be clinging to crows 'cause god only knows that the songbirds have all flown away and today the crows will stay.

"And someday the crows will fly away home and the songbirds will come back to stay. But today the crows will stay."

Marian finished her song to a great reception and stood to take a bow. "It's been so nice to come up here and sing with my old friends again, and thank you all for letting me. You've been so kind. Have a great rest of the night with the Weird Sisters, aren't they wonderful?!"

Marian wrapped it up, hugged Myron and gave a wave before heading off stage again. Once safely behind the curtains Marian leaned against the wall some and caught her breath. She suddenly realized she was very tired from all that. Maybe it was best for her to head on back to the room now. It was fun, and she had hoped to dance a little, but no such luck.

When she eventually made it to her tower, Marian unlocked the door with the key she always kept on her, only tonight she had had to hide it in her bra since she didn't want to wreck the look of her gown. Once she had closed it securely behind her however, she could see there were white flower petals on her floor. And they seemed to be sprinkled all the way to her stairs.

And up them. All the way to her bed chamber door. Once she opened that, puzzled enough by the petals, she received a shock that made her gasp.

There was a small table in the room, on which stood some of her favorite elf made wine, and radio, and a single white rose. Standing to one side of it, dressed in white robes, was Sirius, holding a filled glass in each hand. Marian looked around at all the fairy lights floating about the room adding to her ambiance and nearly missed the fact that the crown molding and the poles of her canopy bed were covered in white roses.

Sirius approached, handing a glass to her. Marian took it, but continued to let her eyes dart from here to there in wonderment. "Sirius what is all this?"

"Consider it the wedding you never had."

Marian let her eyes finally rest on Sirius. He certainly did clean up well. She smiled shyly and they clinked glasses before each of them took a sip.

"You really didn't need to do this Sirius."

He set his glass down on the table and twisted a knob on the radio. There was classical music playing on the other end. "I know, but I wanted to. I always wanted to be able to do this for you one day. Besides, you look lovely tonight, and I can't let you return to your resting place without having held you myself." He offered his hand to her. Marian set aside her own wine and drifted toward him. They danced together with the fairy lights circling above and about them in their own waltz.

Well Sirius was wrong about one thing: Marian hadn't pictured her special day like this. Somehow though, he had managed to make it better.

In the morning, when the elves had cleared the room from the night before and brought breakfast to Sirius and Marian, they poured over the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore had sent one so Marian could ensure she was not a topic of the various articles bound to crop up about the ball. It seemed none of them mentioned Marian, but her jaw dropped upon reading the one Rita Skeeter had written.

"Sirius…look at this." She passed the paper to him. Sirius set his pumpkin juice down on the breakfast tray sitting over Marian's lap and took the article from her. "Oh dear, how did she find that out?"

"Most people could assume, from the looks of him. But did she really have to write something?"

Skeeter had written a horrible expose on the fact that Hagrid's mother was a giantess. The thing that bothered Marian most was that there were details. Details that couldn't have been known unless by the man himself. Who would Hagrid have told? Not that woman surely.

"He'll be a mess," Marian moaned. "I should visit him today."

"You should,' Sirius agreed, setting the paper aside. "I'll have to be going soon. Will you be all right without me?"

Marian nodded and snuggled into Sirius' chest. "I'll be all right. I think I'm finally on the mend. Wish you could risk staying though."

She lifted her face up to him and Sirius smiled down on her. "Dumbledore says no. if he finds me in here after today I'll be a world of trouble for me. He promised so."

Sirius bent his neck to kiss Marian slow and steamy. He held her closer and a gentle hand found a resting place on her breast. Marian moaned into their locked lips and reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair. Sirius broke the kiss and sighed. "I don't suppose you're cleared for…fun activities?"

"Poppy says only when I can run a lap around the quiddich pitch."

"So that's a no."

Marian could understand the pain he was in. Being on the run was a damper, being back here and separated was a bust. They had almost a whole month together alone and yet Marian was not well. It was irritating, though Marian thought in a way she was a little relieved. She was still learning about Sirius and still falling in love with him as he was now, over a decade after they met. She kind of wanted to wait until she was sure.

Sirius departed mid-morning and around noon, Marian got herself up, donned a dressing gown and headed out for the Great Hall for lunch. She was sure many people would still be lazing about, so it didn't matter to her if she was fully dressed, though it did feel a little improper. Thankfully, once she arrived it would seem that Minerva had the same idea. Admittedly she pulled it off better than Marian, or at least the young witch thought so.

There were nods of appreciation from the few students who passed by, and none too few young girls called out her name and waved from their seats, but Marian would have loved if she could have simply enjoyed her lunch. Unfortunately, there was an irritating voice rushing to catch up to her.

"Marian darling!" Rita Skeeter had run up beside her and was now scribbling frantically as she shuffled as quickly as she could to keep up with Marian in her impractically high shoes. "I heard you sang with the Weird Sisters last night for about a half hour! I don't know _what_ I was doing to miss this but everyone is saying just how wonderful you were!"

Without slowing at all and being extremely thankful that she reached the teachers' table, Marian said flatly over her shoulder, "Professor Dumbledore's warning still stands, Rita. You're never to write about me for any reason ever again."

"Oh come now, just one little tidbit! I'll miss a huge story if I don't."

"Let someone else write it!"

Rita backed off once Marian had walked around the other side of the table and sat down near Minerva. Dumbledore could ruin Skeeter and no matter how big the story could be, that woman wouldn't risk her career. She stalked off, no doubt looking for more dirt from the night before.

"Someone will write something you know." Minerva had said this before taking another bite of her eggs.

"I know," Marian said a downcast. "But I told Myron to tell them about me so I wouldn't have to. He'll handle it. And after what she wrote last night, Dumbledore is going to kick her off the grounds later today anyway."

Minerva simply shrugged and went back to her afternoon brunch. Marian chose a few finger sandwiches and tea from the spread before her for the lunch hour and ate as much as her stomach would let her. She really should not have had so much wine the night before. Though it had been a wonderful night at that. And as long as accounts of her night at the Yule Ball could be satisfied by Myron's account, all Marian had to worry about was getting completely back on her feet. And the second task, of course.

IN PLAIN SIGHT

Marian continued working even though some of it was being done directly from her bed. She was often still tired, but otherwise in high spirits. As long as she wasn't thinking about the next task. Every now and then she would look out her window and gaze at the lake and just mull over the clue in the egg. What on earth could the screeching mean?

It hit her one afternoon, which she was reading through a few texts about the dead and undead. In taking another gazing break, she started thinking about the first time she saw the giant squid.

This turned into the first time she saw a grindylow.

…and a merperson.

Marian actually smacked her forehead and was out of bed like a shot. There were a few techniques that could be used to get to the city, but only a precious few. Transfiguration of the body, like becoming an animagus was the best choice, but obviously there was no time for that. There was the bubbleheaded charm, which was effective, but it could be difficult to maintain if concentration was broken and that made Marian nervous. There was one more thing she could think of, but…well that was complicated.

She immediately got to the fireplace and started placing calls, to no avail. No one she knew had any, nor could they get any in only a couple short weeks. Which put Marian in another tight spot. Did she tell Harry about this idea if no one, apparently, could help him?

In the end, after mulling it over for a while, Marian decided not to say anything. Harry would be stressed as it was and since the information could only serve to make things worse, it was probably better to let Harry try and find an old spell to help him out, or learn the bubbleheaded charm.

The task came up quickly, and Marian was well enough to attend. As she stood on the platform, looking down the line to where the champions were ready to begin, Harry seemed a little nervous. But he did have something in his hands other than a wand. It was green, it was slimy, it was…no.

He was holding a sample of gillyweed. Marian had called all over looking for that and here Harry was, holding enough for an hour in his hands. Alastor instructed him quietly to swallow it just before the cannon sounded the start of the task.

Marian made her way over to Severus Snape, who appeared not to care much about the task and was more interested in eyeing Karkaroff.

"Where would Harry have gotten that?"

Severus was startled a bit and turned in her direction. His response was low. "I had honestly assumed you had broken into my stores and taken it."

"Of course not," Marian said, matching Severus' quiet voice. "I actually thought of it a couple weeks ago and called everyone I knew. That's an endangered plant and it's getting difficult to find and obtain. No one had any and none of them could get it in time. You already had some?"

"For years. Someone broke into my stores over night, left the door ajar. That's the only thing that was gone."

Marian didn't think Harry had stolen it. She saw him the day before and he was distraught over not knowing what to do about the task. Someone gave him the answer, but it wasn't her and it wasn't from his own research she didn't think. Besides, Harry would have been smart enough to at least close the door all the way. But Severus was convinced it was Harry and no amount of cajoling was going to change his mind so Marian simply shut her mouth and watched the water for Harry to return.

WISHES TO THE GODMOTHER

"Why on earth wouldn't he have told me he'd arranged to see you?"

Marian had almost literally run into Harry, Ron and Hermione on their way back into the village from out in the direction of the caves. They headed for the school together, Harry described what they had discussed. Everything from Karkaroff's behavior and history to the same of Barty Crouch. Nothing they had discussed wasn't news to Marian, and she said as much. "Still, it's unlike him not to tell me about something like this. I should have been there."

"Well if nothing about it is new to you maybe he thought it didn't matter if you wasted the time." Harry looked in Marian's direction. They could nearly see eye to eye now, Harry had grown so much. "I'm surprised you didn't say anything about him being nearby."

"I'm sorry," Marian said earnestly, trying to avoid the ears of those who were passing by. "I thought we had agreed not to say anything because we were concerned about keeping Sirius' cover. Or I did anyway. He's almost been caught on a few occasions already, it makes me nervous."

"Well, maybe he thought the topics we discussed would make you more nervous. They certainly unnerved me." Hermione's offer was sweet, but Marian still felt as though she was in the dark.

As they neared the castle, Marian saw the trio off on their own and decided to sit outside on the bench in the courtyard for a while and think. It probably wasn't the best idea since she was still on the mend, but it was an unusually mild day.

This whole tournament thing was stressful to the point of mild nausea, at least for Marian. Someone was trying to kill her godson, strange things were continuing to happen out in the world, and she could not shake the feeling that something very bad was about to happen. Unable to shake the feeling, Marian headed inside, closing the large oaken front doors behind her with a heavy sigh. Before she could ever start to climb the grand staircase however, Marian was stopped by someone calling her name. "Marain, dear! I've been looking everywhere."

Marian turned around and unclasped her cloak with a smile. "Minerva, good afternoon."

The old witch approached with a copy of Witch Weekly in her hands. "Have you seen this week's issue?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Marian shrugged and shook her head. With a sly smile, Minerva handed the periodical to her and said, "You should."

With that the professor was gone and Marian was just as alone as she had been before her name had been called. Too stressed to make an immediate note of the magazine, Marian walked to her tower and unlocked the door. Once inside she made herself comfortable on the sofa and lit her fire, since the tall tower tended to get drafty. Once comfortable, Marian unfurled the rolled up magazine and scanned the topics in bright lettering on the cover. One story in a corner caught her attention:

_Myron Wagtail Tells All: Playing at the Yule Ball and His _Relationship_ with Marian Knightly_

Marian flipped anxiously to the appointed page and read ravenously.

_The Yule Ball, a timeless tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, was full of surprises, not the least of which was the stunning performance given by the Weird Sisters. We sat down with Myron Wagtail, lead singer, to get the skinny on this legendary performance._

_WW: So Myron, you've played scores of concerts. What made this performance special or unique?_

_Myron: Lots of things. The fact that it was for the Yule Ball was special enough, but it was also the first time a band like ours has ever played at Hogwarts. _

_WW: And your surprise guest of course._

_Myron: It was great to have Marian there. We have been friends for a long time, but lost touch a couple years back. I was over the moon to be singing with her again._

_WW: So you were friends in school?_

_Myron: Very good friends. We used to write songs together. It was great to get a little back of what we lost after we left school._

_WW: So will there be more collaborations with Miss Knightly in the future?_

_Myron: I'm not sure. She has her work and I have mine. If they bring us together sometime in the future for more nights like that, it would be wonderful, and if not, we're still very good friends._

_WW: Maybe more than friends?_

_Myron: I love her, but I'm not in love with her. If you ask her she'll say the feeling is mutual. We work best as friends and neither of us has any desire to change that. Why fix was isn't broken?_

_Myron refused to comment on the events surrounding Marian Knightly's sordid past. I think we can all await with bated breath, hoping that someday the world will be able to hear the shockingly beautiful, soulful voice of Marian Knightly again._

Atta boy, Marian thought. He had said nothing she hadn't okayed him to. Hopefully people would leave her be about performing with them; she had never been in the spotlight in that kind of way so maybe people would just forget about it. Funny, it seemed that since Sirius had returned, Marian had gotten bold and comfortable. She had become confident. Which was strange, since there was still no presentable evidence that could exonerate Sirius. But somehow having someone know she wasn't crazy or addled made her feel as though she was more accepted than she thought. And since coming to live at Hogwarts, there had been a decided lack of awkward questions and suspicious looks. This life was befitting her quite nicely. Marian wouldn't trade it for anything.

Sometime later in the week, Marian popped by Hagrid's for a chat. She was wondering how he had been doing since Christmas. She drank a cup if his horrible herb tea and they talked about the threats Hermione had been getting for the false love articles Skeeter had been writing about her and Harry, talked about the ones Hagrid had received, and about life in general before Hagrid held up a finger saying, "Almost forgot! Got something for you. I got a bunch on loan for the fourth year class, but I bought one outright for you. Never did manage to get you anything for the holidays."

Marian was puzzled. No one had got her anything really. Dumbledore had given her a text of strange tales of witches and wizards who had disappeared or died from experimental magic. (He really was insisting on the teaching thing, wasn't he?) Sirius had arranged their private dance, though probably with Dumbledore's help, and there was a mysterious package of various gemstones that had been sent to her, though from whom the packaging hadn't said. Probably from Dorian Shape. She was touched, but perhaps she should find someone else to obtain her goods for a while. He was getting very familiar.

"You really didn't have to do anything Hagrid. No one else did."

Hagrid was rummaging through a nearby closet. "Nonsense. You've had a rough year." He had extracted a wooden box with holes in the top. "Besides, this is practical for you. I noticed you wearing some really nice gems a while back."

Marian let him set the box on the table and carefully opened the lid. Actually, it was a rather thoughtful gift. Inside was a rabbit sized creature appearing to be the cross between an anteater and a mole, covered in silky black fur. Hagrid had given her a niffler. They were wonderful treasure hunters, particularly in mines. Considering the progress Marian had made with gemstone usage in relation to the dead, it would certainly be useful and cost effective to go digging for her own, magically untainted gems.

Marian thanked Hagrid enthusiastically and accepted the leash he had made for it, though secretly reminding herself to write Mr. Mendelson at the Diagon Alley menagerie and ask him for what he would recommend. As Marian started walking out of the hut however, there appeared to be a disturbance on the grounds nearby. Hargid grabbed a crossbow and together he and Marian rushed toward the figures in the distance. It was Dumbledore, with Harry and Viktor Krum, who was on the ground and appeared dazed and none too happy.

Dumbledore asked Hagrid to fetch Karkaroff, and Moody had turned up albeit rather mysteriously, saying that Snape had said something about Crouch. "What on earth happened?" Marian asked.

"I don't know where Barty Crouch is, but it is essential we find him."

Moody was on it, and Marian stayed behind with the boys and Dumbledore until Hargid had fetched Karkaroff. And while they waited, Marian asked Harry what had happened.

"We stayed behind to talk after Mr. Bagman told us about the third task and Mr. Crouch just came out from the woods looking horrible and babbling about a stupid mistake and Bertha Jorkins and Voldemort." Krum winced at the name, but Marian hardly noticed as she was deep in thought. When Karkaroff arrived he promptly overacted, saying the Ministry was trying to ensure that their school won the tournament by attacking his student. Well, as a stunner was hardly cause for serious concern, he did escort Krum immediately back to the ship on the lake and refused Poppy's care. For the better in Marian's opinion. Karkaroff's anxiety was through the roof tonight, and it wasn't all about the incident she was sure. Things were clearly about to come to a head and whatever was going to happen before long, it was clearly more concerning than Marian had originally thought. Besides, Hagrid had been about to pound the living daylights out of Karkaroff for insulting Dumbledore by spitting at his feet.

When the two men from Durmstrang were away, Dumbledore instructed Marian to take Harry back to the castle and told him not to send any owls and implored them both to stay put in their respective towers until the following morning. She did as she was told and as they walked, they talked quietly. "What do you suppose?"

Marian truthfully didn't know what to suppose of any of it. "I can only speculate. I assume we'll know more after we find Mr. Crouch, but…"

"But what?"

Marian shook her head and scooped up her niffler as they reached the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. "Nothing. I need to mull it over."

Before Harry ascended the stairs, he rested his hand on the banister and asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"If they refuse to tell me what happened, when they figure it out…will you?"

Marian wasn't quite sure how she felt about that kind of promise. But then the boy would certainly find a way. Perhaps it was better if he got the real information rather than listening at keyholes, for once. "I promise."

Once Harry was inside, Marian made her way to her own tower to find an owl waiting on the sill at the base of the enormous stained glass window. She set her niffler on the sofa and rushed to let the poor little thing in. Marian extracted the note on its leg and read it.

_Marian, darling. What on earth is going on up there? People are saying they've seen a wild man through the trees heading for the castle. Please respond immediately, I'm worried. –Sirius_

He certainly must be, she thought, for him to not write a formally formatted letter. She brought the letter to her desk and quickly scrawled as short an explanation as she could on the back of Sirius' note. No reason to waste paper.

_It's certainly strange. That wild man is actually Mr. Crouch. He's not well. He actually surprised Harry and Viktor Krum. They were talking about something private after Bagman showed them the third task plans and he came out of the trees blathering about Bertha Jorkins and Voldemort and demanding to see Dumbledore. Harry went to get him, but while he was gone Crouch attacked Krum and ran off. We're still looking for him. Well, we're, Moody and Dumbledore are. I've been confined to my tower for Merlin only knows what reason. Harry's fine, but confused. Frankly so am I. when I know more I'll send more information to you. - Marian._

Her bare bones explanation barely fit on the parchment despite her considerably smaller and more legible script by comparison to Sirius' handwriting. She tied it back on the owl's leg, but before she let the little brown owl go again, Marian opened the ornately carved letter box on her desk, where she was keeping her new collection of stones, and extracted two emerald green stones with minty colored ripples in them. She whispered a spell into her hand which enclosed them and clacked them together before tying one of them to the owl's leg along with the note. Sensing his job done, the owl flew from the desk and back out the still open window. The malachite Marian had added should protect the owl from being intercepted and if it was, the remaining malachite stone in her hand would start to get warm and glow.

The niffler had since found his way from the sofa and was circling the chair Marian had sat in at her desk. She bent to lift him into her lap where he made himself comfortable wrapped around the malachite. "We'll have to name you," Marian mused. She thought for quite some time, and landed on an appropriate name: Schorl. It was a rare type of tourmaline and was jet black, much like the fur of a niffler.

Marian made herself and her new pet comfortable in bed for a good nights' sleep, though it was already very late. Unfortunately she would not get to sleep for very long. At a time she should have been sleeping in and the students should be eating breakfast before classes, there came a knock on her door. Marian got herself up and Schorl followed her down the stairs as she tied her hair back in and unruly bun after having neglected to changer out of her robes or brush her hair before sleeping, as she often did when there had been too much work to do or too much to think about late into the night.

When Marian opened the door, Harry was there. She tucked a spiraled lock of hair behind her ear and said, "Harry you should be heading to the dungeons for potions, what's the matter?"

"You told Sirius about last night." Harry was clearly upset with her for telling. "He sent me a letter this morning asking for me to reply with a promise I wouldn't step out of bounds again."

"Listen," Marian said calmly, "he had been hearing strange things and simply wanted to know what was going on. I told him you were all right, I didn't know he was going to panic. He's worried about you is all, and frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about you having gone off alone with Krum either. He seems all right, but until we know who's trying to off you we can't be too careful."

"I thought you could tell when someone was lying or not on the up and up," Harry responded sourly.

"I can." Marian stepped outside her door and locked it. She took Harry by the shoulders and met his eye with some difficulty as he seemed determined not to look at her. "But there are ways even I can be fooled. Come on," she said, turning him around. "Let's get you to potions."

As they walked, Harry was full of questions about the night before, but unfortunately, Marian had no answers. But she stuck with her promise that she would tell him as soon as she knew anything.

"Can I ask one more thing?" Harry said as they neared the potions room.

"Yes?"

"Can I know the next time you're going to talk to Sirius about me? Just let me know next time?"

"I can promise you this." They paused outside the potions room and faced one another again. "How about I promise to include you in my attempts at being a godparent to you, and I'll try to get Sirius to start seeing you as the mature young man you've started to become."

Harry smiled and was about to thank her when the door opened suddenly. Snape was glaring down his nose at the both of them. "Am I interrupting something?" he sneered.

"Not anymore, we just needed to have a little talk before Harry attended class. Dumbledore's idea."

Severus stepped aside to let Harry inside and lingered a moment, speaking quietly to Marian.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Only when I want to be. He's late as it is, there's no changing that. And it really was important."

"Well Dumbledore really did have something he asked me to convey to you if I saw you today. He wants to see you on the grounds where out missing person was last seen. Moody is having trouble finding him and the headmaster seems to think you'll be of some assistance."

It was an odd request, but then the whole situation was odd. Without another word, Marian headed for the grounds to do what she could to find Mr. Crouch, hopefully alive.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Marian spent some time over the course of the morning searching for hide or hair of Mr. Crouch in the woods, but came up empty handed. It was a gorgeous day outside, but after some time, Marian was so hot ad tired, she decided to call it quits and head back to the castle.

Once inside Dumbledore's office, Marian made herself comfortable across the desk from the headmaster. "I'm sorry I couldn't find anything."

Dumbledore shrugged. "I knew it wasn't likely. There was a small chance you might be able to sense him out were he still alive, but at this point I do believe that is no longer a hope we should entertain. Thank you for trying anyway, my dear."

"Of course," Marian fanned herself with her hand before venturing onto a question she had been meaning to ask of the good professor. "I was wondering if I could have use of your pensieve, sir."

Dumbledore looked intrigued. "May I ask what for?"

"I need to look at the events that caused me to slip into a coma in the Death Chamber several months back. I can't continue my research unless I know what I accomplished and what went wrong. I would ask Sybill but I need whichever one I use to be…secure."

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "You really should consider teaching."

Marian was tired of hearing about it, though she knew it would be a safer venture, without a doubt. She sighed, more from the heat than the conversation. "I promise I'll think about it, but for now I need to continue my work and I can't do that until I know what happened."

Dumbledore unlocked the cabinet where the pensieve stood on a marble pedestal. He excused himself to go and meet Cornelius Fudge who was due for an appointment and only asked that Marian mind the time and be back in the office in twenty minutes.

Marian stepped up to the pensieve and placed her wand tip to her temple. She extracted a wispy white memory, rather thin as it were, and let it fall into the pensieve as gently as a feather. Once the scene from the Death Chamber swirled into focus, Marian leaned herself headfirst into the pensieve and allowed herself to be sucked into the memory.

There was no sound. Strange for a memory, but then Marian hadn't been sure how much she would be able to garner from her missing conscious memory of that night. She could see herself set her things down to one side of the chamber, carry her chair to the dais where the arch stood and seat herself, onyx on her right hand and iolite around her neck, in front of the veil.

For a long time she appeared to be speaking intermittently. Had she really managed to contact someone solid from the other side? Without being able to overhear, there was no way to know. After about ten minutes, the veil began to flutter a little more violently, and when it started snapping close to Marian's face, she fell backward off her chair and all the way down the many stairs leading to the top of the dais. So it hadn't been spell damage, it had been a fall that knocked her out. It explained the headaches following her wakening from the event. Her recovery from weakness, however, was more worrisome. Had the souls on the other side tried to pull her through? It was possible and would certainly be an explanation.

Marian checked her watch and was glad to know the memory was over. The pensieve regurgitated her back into the office and with her feet on solid ground again, Marian resolved that she would need to choose a third stone, a buffer to strengthen the iolite.

She had returned none too soon, because a few moments after she closed the door to the pensieve cabinet, Dumbledore returned with the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and, oddly enough, Professor Moody.

"I was expecting a private meeting with those familiar with what's going on, Dumbledore," Fudge said sourly as the door closed behind the tree men.

"As it happens, Minister, I just sent Miss Knightly out this morning to try and find hide or hair of Mr. Crouch. No luck I'm afraid, but I thought her input might be of value."

Marian, sensing the unease from almost everyone in the room, sat herself in a chiar near Fawkes the phoenix and simply listened.

"As I was saying, Minister, I am still rather concerned over the things Barty said to Harry when he was last seen. He was talking about Bertha Jorkins, and forgive me, but they seem to have disappeared in much the same way. By that evidence, we have a serial criminal on our hands, Minister."

It was a very direct route to the heart of the matter. It would seem the headmaster was in no mood to dance around the issue.

"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, none at all! Ludo says Bertha is perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to find her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's-!"

"And what do you think's happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?" Moody's growl came through in an irritated tone.

"I see two possibilities Alastor. Either Crouch has finally cracked—more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history—lost his mind and gone wandering off somewhere—"

Marian mumbled something in a hushed undertone that gave the Minister pause. "I'm sorry, Miss Knightly what did you say?"

"I said if that's the case he wandered extremely quickly. As it were, I found no trace of him whatsoever. He hasn't been around since only minutes after he was found and then off again. If you ask me, he's—"

"I'd like to reserve judgment for after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons' carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?"

"I know her to be a very able headmistress—and an excellent dancer."

Marian snickered into her hand at this. Dumbledore did always know how to best decompress a tense room. It was as if the walls themselves exhaled. Even Moody was amused, and that was infamously difficult to accomplish. The only person not amused was the Minister.

"Dumbledore come! You don't think you might be prejudiced in her favor because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out to be harmless—if Hagrid can indeed be called harmless with that monster fixation of his—"

"I no more suspect Madame Maxine than Hagrid," Dumbledore responded coldly. "I think perhaps it is you who is prejudiced, Cornelius."

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" Moody asked impatiently.

"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds then."

"No it's not that, it's just that Potter wants a word with you, Dumbeldore. He's right outside the door."

Marian had felt something, but hadn't been sure precisely what. How could she not have known? It was the first time since she found that she had specially fine-tuned powers as a child that she had not been able to identify a strong sense of feeling. As the door opened and Harry was invited to enter, she could now feel the slight unease mixed with an undernote of fear. Something was very wrong. Something with Harry…something with her…

"…we were just about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, perhaps if you could just go back to your class."

Ignoring the Minister, Harry craned his neck around him and directed toward the headmaster, "I wanted to speak with you professor."

"Wait here for me Harry," Dumbledore instructed.

As the professors, Marian and the Minister exited the office together, Marian could not find it in herself to shake the shock of not having been able to know someone was behind the office door. The feeling she caught from Harry once he's come inside was so strong, how could she have missed that?

"Headmaster," she said quietly as they walked. He slowed to meet her pace and Marian said quietly, "I'm not sure I would be of much help at this point, sir. And there's something I need to speak to Sybill with. Will you be all right without my input?"

"Of course, Marian my dear. Good luck."

Marian thanked the professor and turned tail, walking very quickly toward the tower where Professor Trelawny taught Divination. Marian had gone to Sybill many times as a student to learn to hone her special kind of seer abilities. Marian did not get visions, but her connection to emotions and being able to read people needed to be reined in lest she be overcome with emotions that were not her own.

Students were going by as she climbed the first few stairs. Class must have just let out. Marian climbed to the top and entered the classroom with a soft knock. The old witch turned, dropping her papers at being slightly startled, and said, "Marian dear. I knew it was you. You didn't have to knock dear."

Marian entered and lifted her full dark curls off the base of her neck. "Sybill, I need to ask you something…about my seeing abilities."

This delighted Sybill, who suddenly dumped her papers on her desk and rushed to usher the younger witch inside and shut the door behind them both (to an inward groan from Marian). They sat together on either side of Sybill's tea table and Marian did her best to explain how she was feeling.

"Sybill, I never was a real seer. You know that. I don't have premonitions, or visions, or even vibes. I just…read people. How they feel. That's a step down from being a seer isn't it?"

"Truthfully, I don't know my dear. I always assumed you were an underdeveloped seer, but then you've always been very bright. Perhaps you're simply a different brand of seer."

Marian shook her head. "I don't think so, Sybill. Lately things have been…I don't know, fading. I can read people from across a room anymore unless the emotions are overwhelming. And my episode earlier this year never should have happened. I watched it again in a pensieve just now. It was such a violent event and I should have been able to control it. I've done far more dangerous experiments before and come out all right. What if the reason this last one almost killed me is because I'm getting weaker?"

Sybill scratched her head. "What episode is this again dear?"

Marian described the event, much more cohesively now that she had witnessed it, and when she was finished Sybill's face was sporting a huge grin and she seemed excited. "Oh, Marian my dear, you not getting weaker…you're getting stronger! Your powers have been exercising themselves by reading whatever was around you, in your case people, for years. Now your senses and your strength are honing themselves into their medium of choice…gems, rocks, earth!" She quickly reached forward and grasped Marian's hands in her with an insistent grasp. "You were never a seer, dear. You're an Elemental. And you're going through the winds of change."

Elemental? Marian had never heard of that before. It sounded like something Sybill might have made up. But when Marian tried to ask her about it, Sybill simply told her to look it up in the library.

So she wasn't a seer. Marian wasn't sure she was comfortable with the realization that she was never what everyone always thought she was. It was just another thing that she either was and people thought she wasn't or vice versa. Her whole life was skewed between what people thought she was and what she actually was. when on Merlin's green earth was she going to just be the same person to everyone else as she was with herself?

Well, there was no getting more out of Sybill and it was stiflingly hot in the tower, so Marain made to leave. Before she did though, Sybill called her name as she opened the door. "Harry collapsed in class not an hour ago, dear, he was clutching his scar. Something I thought you might like to know."

Now his visit made sense. Marian checked her watch as she walked through the considerably cooler corrisors and determined there was no way he would still be with Dumbledore. The afternoon was almost over and the final classes were about to finish. Resolving to speak to him later, Marian made her way to the library, only to discover she would be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Harry was inside, sitting at a table and reading a quiddich text. She walked to him and tapped the edge of the table. He looked up at her and smiled a little. "Did you feel me being nervous or something?"

Marian smiled sadly. "No. I doubt I'll be able to do that for much longer. May I?"

Harry nodded and Marian sat down. "What do you mean you won't be able to do that for much longer?" Harry whispered.

"My senses have been dulling lately. Frankly I didn't even know you were behind the door until Professor Moody said something."

"How does something like that just go away? Does it have something to do with what happened to you?"

"Professor Trelawny trained and honed my abilities when I was in school. I had private lessons with her for years. She seems to think we were wrong, thinking I was some kind of seer."

Harry appeared confused. "So…what are you then?"

Marian shrugged. "She sent me here to find out. Want to help me?"

Glad to be able to concentrate on something that had nothing to do with the tournament, or his incident that afternoon, Harry eagerly agreed to help her.

REALIZATIONS

"Dangerous my foot," Marian spat, tossing the paper to one side in the cave where Sirius was staying after reading her latest depicting the episode Harry had experienced a couple days before. He seemed to be taking better care of himself since Marian had been sending him the occasional random person polyjuice potions made with muggle hairs and some money. He was eating and caring for himself better.

The day was warm and beautiful, but not oppressively so. They had not seen one another in months so Marian decided to take a Saturday and spend it catching Sirius up on everything. She had brought the latest Daily Prophet and a couple texts from the library with her to try and help her explain her newfound title to him.

"That woman is a snake," Sirius said, stretching out beside Marian on the picnic blanket she brought for them to sit on just inside the cave entrance where the sun was shining. "She gets one whiff of something and turns it into a circus."

Marian shook her head slowly. "How does she know all this stuff? About Hagrid, about Hermione and Viktor Krum? How did she know about Harry's episode?"

"Who knows." Sirius was rubbing Schorl's belly while the niffler elicited what sounded something like a purr, enjoying every second of the attention. "She's clearly overhearing things from somewhere, wither it be under a window or beneath some floor boards. That woman will do anything for a story."

With a sigh Marian moved on to one of the books she had brought, with a mark on a page in the middle. She opened it to the proper page as Sirius asked, "So if you're not a seer, what are you? Certainly your powers are not normal."

"Elemental: a witch or wizard with particular power or abilities based in one of the four basic elements: water, fire, air or earth. Elementals are very rare occurrences and must be nurtured in their abilities from a very young age if they are to avoid serious consequences which can include destruction of property, themselves or others.

"Elementals typically are mistaken for seers as children. They often exhibit the same basic abilities, but despite strong teaching and skill building rarely develop these abilities into anything concrete. In their early twenties, Elementals will experience and ebb in the abilities they have lived with for their entire lives and experience their new base for power.

"A water Elemental might find that they are particularly adept at magiks pertaining to water, or in some extreme cases, may be able to manipulate water with the use of very general commands and a wand. Select few are particularly adept at learning to speak Mermish and other communable languages of the intelligent water creatures found in enchanted waters.

"A fire Elemental can be the most dangerous of the four. Certain combustible spells and curses should not be performed by such Elementals who are not in complete control of their specific powers. In times of extreme emotion these Elementals are apt to cause small fires and explosions to crop up nearby, much the same as any young witch or wizard who is first experiencing their magical abilities.

"Air Elementals are perhaps the most conventional, and certainly the most common. Often times, they are unaware that they ever were Elementals in the first place and simply discount their fading abilities as a simple loss due to malpractice. Air Elementals are uncommonly good fliers; there are even some very old legends of some air Elementals achieving flight without a broom. Not much separates them from average witches and wizards if their powers are not honed by seasoned professionals.

"Earth Elementals, also having been known as alchemists from time to time, are truly the most fascinating of the four. They are the oldest known species of Elementals. Their power exists without wands, because their abilities and powers can be channeled not only through traditional wands, but through various stones, gems, rocks, and kinds of soil. Because of the wide variety of materials and their wide spectrum of specific uses, an earth Elemental's powers are many, and they are strong. Fortunately, they are as easily controlled as a typical young witch or wizard, and can often be made use of with little or no risk without intense professional attention, if any at all."

Marian stopped reading and Schorl clambered into her lap. It made sense. Her people reading had been fading. And considering the general uses for the stones in the jewelry she had been wearing the last time she was in the Death Chamber it was no wonder she had been knocked out. If she truly was an earth Elemental having those kinds of enhancers would have drawn not only a few spirits, but probably many. More than she could have possibly handled. Marian repeated her thoughts to Sirius. "It does all fit in rather nicely, Sirius. Maybe Trelawny is right."

"If she is, you'd best quit that work at the Ministry. Sounds like you won't be of much use to them in the same capacity much longer."

Marian lay herself beside Sirius and closed her eyes, staring into the bright pink of her eyelids shone on by the sun. "If Skeeter doesn't knock it off I'm going to have to get Dumbledore to threaten her against writing about Harry as well."

Sirius' barking laugher came easily. "Marian my darling, that woman will always find her story. Besides, do you really think she would listen? You're one thing, but Harry is far more interesting as far as she knows. We told all kinds of stories about the things we would overhear people talking about while we were romping around as animagi. If someone would have told us to knock it off it would only have spurred us more."

Marian's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. Sirius. Was. A. _Genius._

THE TRUTH COMES OUT

With Harry inside the maze there was nothing for Maria to do but go looking for that horrible woman who would more than likely be somewhere around the stands, waiting to see who would come out so she could be the first to get an exclusive. Albeit a highly illegal one.

When Sirius had spoken about the things he and James and the others would hear when they were out and about in school, it gave Marian an idea. She contacted her boss Boderick Bode for a list of animagi; as the Department of Mysteries they held a copy. Just as she had thought, Rita Skeeter was nowhere to be found on it. This prompted a few days of intense thought into what precisely she could be turning herself into to gain the inside scoop. To figure it out, Marian had to go through every unbelievably private story in her mind. Hagrid talking with Madame Maxime in the garden at the Yule Ball…Viktor asking Hermione to visit him…Harry's episode. What could she possibly be turning into that no one would notice?

It hit her the night before the third task: Rita Skeeter was turning herself into come kind of insect. It was small enough to not be seen by anyone, near or far. In the meantime she could hear things that were said even at a whisper.

So now here she was, while the third task was awaiting an exciting culmination, searching every inch of the area surrounding the maze for that horrible woman. It was likely, of course, that she was inside the maze somewhere. That would be what Marian would have done. But it occurred to her that unless she knew where the cup was being held in the maze, which was the size of more than half the entire schools grounds, Skeeter would not be keen to try and find her way. No she was out here, somewhere.

The bleachers would be a horrible place for her to hide, too much noise and there was no telling when someone might get up and leave with her tangled in their hair. So where would she be? Marian leaned against the backside of one of the maze walls, careful to not press her way through. She checked herself in both directions to be sure she was not being followed by one of the judges, since she was really not supposed to be there, and once assured of her loneliness began to recalculate her thoughts.

She didn't get very far. There was the sound of a snapping twig around the corner to her right, the one she had just come around. She listened for several moments, straining to hear anything at all. There was nothing. Unsatisfied, Marian decided to press on. The moment her back was turned, something hit her square between the shoulders and she fell, unable to move. A light stunner had struck her. And when whoever had hexed her approached and turned her over from her stomach, she resolved she would make him wish he would have killed her. It was Igor Karkaroff.

Karkaroff set another hex to bind her hands before standing Marian up. "Tonight's the night," he said with an almost frantic, crazed sounding voice. "My former master has returned, and in addition to Potter, he is going to get quite the haul indeed. He's about to make the acquaintance of some very long lost family."

Sirius had been right. Karkaroff had been planning on trading her to Voldemort for his life it would seem. Marian wasn't sure what was happening to her. The stunner wore off, but she walked along with the dark headmaster, not able to talk back, not able to run. Nothing.

It seemed like Karkaroff was just going to walk off without anyone noticing into the forest when there was a voice aside from his that came from behind them. "This is not wise, Igor."

Karkaroff turned and Marian, despite being pulled in front of the man and having a wand at her throat was relieved to hear Severus' voice and highly more so when he came into her line of sight.

"I've told you time and time again, this will not save you. The girl is important, but regardless of wither you brought her or not, you locked up some very essential people with your wicked tongue. The Dark Lord will not let you live, no matter how precious your gifts are."

Karkaroff said nothing for a moment. Marian's powers of perception had dimmed to almost nothing but she could tell he was terrified. She could feel his body shaking behind her and when he did finally speak his voice trembled.

"W-what should I do Severus? What am I to do?"

Severus neared, and Marian noticed that while he had his wand drawn it was not aimed at Karkaroff. In fact it seemed the potions master was trying his best to conceal it. instead of raising the wand, Severus rose a hand, not in anger, but he seemed to be trying to gently reason with Karkaroff. "Leave the girl and run. Get as far away as you can and keep on going. This girl, no matter how powerful she is, no matter who her ancestor was to the both of them, no matter how rare will not spare your life. Nothing will. Not now."

"But if I run…Severus they will kill me for sure if I'm found out!"

"Then you're dead either way. You'd best get to running."

Karkaroff went quiet, his breath quickened. Then as hard as he could he shoved Marian toward Severus and took off, she assumed, into the woods alone.

In moments Marian could feel her hands were freed and she was able to move on her own. She opened her mouth and spoke, slightly slurred from the experience. "Well I'm glad de decided to divulge his plot in you, Severus, otherwise I might be a goner right now. What happened to me? I couldn't resist him."

"Imperious curse I expect. Makes for a spectacularly cooperative captive."

"Yes well, cooperative is relative. I could have fought it off eventually. Still it's nice to have friends in the vicinity." Her jovial mood only lasted a moment longer before something that had been said stuck out so clearly in her mind it caused her to quake with fear from the inside out. "What did he say about Harry being delivered to Voldemort?"

Severus shrugged. He hadn't heard it. "Oh Merlin, I have to talk to Dumbledore. Now!"

Severus grasped her hand and together they rushed back to the other end of the maze to the stands of cheering students and teachers, to find the headmaster and warn him that something terrible was going to happen in the maze. Or perhaps, if they were unlucky, it already had…

It seemed like they were running for an hour, but eventually the teacher and the researcher reached the crowd once more and wove their way through the people milling around waiting for a champion to emerge until they found themselves in the company of Ludo Bagman, of all people. Since he insisted on talking them up, Marian decided he was as good a person as any at this point. "Where is Professor Dumbledore, please? It's urgent."

"Hmm," Bagman thought with a dramatic hand flourishing up to his chin. "I believe he was in the infirm tent, checking on poor Miss Delacour after she was pulled out from the maze. Her sparks went up you see, so-"

"Thank you!"

Marian and Severus rushed off to the tent which was not twenty yards away. As they approached, Dumbledore was emerging. He looked up and saw Marian and Severus and smiled. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to, my dear. Sent Severus after you. It's not quite safe for you to be roaming around the grounds as they are at night for the moment. The landscape had changed dramatically…"

"It's a good thing you did, sir," Severus cut him off. "Karkaroff tried to make a run for it with Marian in hand. He was planning on giving her to Voldemort in exchange for his life being spared after his disloyalty thirteen years ago."

Dumbledore petted his beard and listened intently. "He's gone then?"

"Yes sir."

Dumbledore sighed heavily and shook his head. He beckoned the two heavily panting companions to follow him as they walked away from the chaos and into a much quieter setting in open field to the right of the maze entrance. "I take it you've seen your mark burn black Severus." This was answered with a solemn nod. "Well you know what I will ask of you, but we must wait until this night plays out its events before we can make any decisions."

"There's something else," Marian said insistently. "Karkaroff said something to me about Harry being delivered to Voldemort tonight. Is the maze secure? This spy in Hogwarts, do we know who it is?"

Before Dumbledore could answer, there was a scream from the stands behind them. Someone had returned it would seem, as the riot sounded jovial, but as they rushed toward the entrance and neared it, there was a cry of horror.

Marian was in the lead in front of the professors. She saw in the distance Cedric laying on the ground, eyes wide open and complexion pale, beside Harry, who seemed injured but alive. Marian rushed toward her godson, but Fudge stepped in her way.

"Cornelius, move!"

"This needs to be secured, these boys are not well!"

In a low voice, Marian replied as close to his ear as she could get. "He is my godson, Fudge, and he needs me."

The Minister stepped aside and Marian rushed to kneel beside Harry. He was clutching his scar and seemed dazed until Fudge, apparently done with his examination, cried out that Cedric was dead. (The man really was gifted at a lack of professional etiquette…) Dumbledore reached Marian, who was helping Harry sit up, and once he caught sight of the headmaster at his side, Harry whispered, "He's back. Voldemort's back."

Dumbledore and Marian helped Harry to his feet, and though he swayed a bit he could stand. His words were still ringing in Marian's ears. She knew he was after talking briefly with Severus and Dumbledore, hell she knew when Karkaroff mentioned what he was going to do with her, but having heard the words actually spoken, well, it sent chills down her spine and back up again. She didn't know if she had the strength to weather another war, to accept all the losses she was likely to experience. She's lost so much already and just when it seemed she was getting something back from the world at long last it was all about to be put to the test once again…

Moody was saying something about Cedric's father. Dumbledore nodded and grasped Marian's wrist. "I need you to run and fetch our friend in the cave."

"Now? But Harry, he-"

"I'll take care of him, don't worry. But our friends needs to be here. And do not tell him anything until I get to you." He waggled a finger at nearby Severus as they closed the gap toward a confused looking Amos Diggory. "Severus will help you if you need it. Both of you, go, and once you're done, Marian you're to go up to my office, and Severus, you'll come find me here."

Marian and Severus fell back and allowed Dumbledore to break the terrible news to a log father. The scene was terrible. Amos all but broke down into fits of sobbing and screams of a breaking heart. Would Marian be in that position someday soon? Over Sirius? Harry?

"Come," Severus insisted and together they were off again, rushing away from the maze this time and toward the castle. Once they reached the courtyard and determined it to be empty, Severus asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Marian looked around again to make absolutely certain no one was about to come upon them (it had already happened to her once before tonight). "I need you to ensure that the doors between here and the headmaster's office are open and that they stay that way."

"But…I don't understand."

Severus certainly did seem confused. Marian undid the buttons of the high collar of her robes and opened the bodice a bit, causing Severus to blush slightly. "I just need the doors open. I can do this myself and frankly it'll be faster this way." Her fingers struggled with the tiny closures. Marian looked concernedly at Severus and asked him, "May I ask what it is you are going to be asked to do now that Voldemort'e returned?"

She expected an answer of annoyance or one that would refuse her query with a touch of rudeness. But Severus simply dropped his chin to avoid her eye and said lowly, "Rejoin the fold of Death Eaters and gather what information I can."

Buttons now undone enough Marian's heart twinged for this man. "I wish you luck, if I don't see you."

Without another word, Marian closed her eyes and felt herself shrinking into he r skirts, becoming small and furry. She opened her eyes and saw everything in shades of gray, including Severus' disbelieving look. No time to enjoy it, Marian wriggled out of her robes, turned tail as it were toward the path that would lead her through Hogsmeade village and into the rocky cave strewn forest. She had to find Sirius as quickly as she could, so they could get back to their godson who had just been through the seventh circle of hell.

Marian ran and wove her way through the path and the village, and all the while found herself thinking about what Severus had said. He had as bad a history as ever she knew. It was true, Marian had bonded with Sybill as a student, but she had bonded with Severus as well. She attended his trial with Dumbledore and Moody and when they were both at the school he tutored her through the first year curriculum Marian had missed. They bonded over terrible parents, bad lots in life, poor luck. Severus had a broken soul. Marian now feared he would lose himself entirely if he took up this venture. She feared for quite a lot of people, but none in this moment quite as much as she did him. Moody had always said he was dark to begin with, that perhaps he was never right to begin with because of his history, but then why was Marian right as rain? Who knew the answers?

And as Marian neared the cave, barely visible to the human eye in the dark of night, but quite easy to see for her at the moment, an answer to one mystery struck her like a ton of bricks. She had to grab Sirius and get back to the castle, _now_. The threat wasn't over yet.

THE WRONG GIRL FOR THE RIGHT JOB

"But if he said to wait here then you should wait here!"

Sirius really was tiresome when he was human. Marian didn't have time to explain literally everything she had puzzled out in her mind not a half hour before. "It's important, I just have to go and tell Dumbledore something and I'll be back. It'll take five minutes and it's something that can't wait."

Mairan finished buttoning herself back into her clothes while Sirius was getting dressed in his which he had carried back from the cave in his mouth.

But before Marian could open the door and rush out again, the door opened on its own. Behind it, Harry and Dumbledore stood. "Harry," Marian breathed out in relief as the boy rushed to her. she hugged him tightly and over his shoulder as Dumbledore closed the door. "Professor, Moody isn't Moody, he's-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "I know, my dear. The story is a long one and I will tell you after we've heard from Harry about what happened to him."

"You know it's Barty Crouch Junior?"

Dumbledore froze for a moment before heading toward his desk. Sirius, having struggled into his shirt, came toward Harry and Marian and embraced his godson before helping him into the chair on the visitors' side of the great desk. "I knew it- I knew something like this was going to happen. What happened?"

Marian hadn't bothered to tell Sirius anything of course. Dumbledore had made his request quite insistent. Sirius stood behind Harry with a hand on his shoulder as he retold his story, one that he must have already told before to Dumbledore at least. He spoke about how Voldemort was reborn from some spell that Marian could only assume was ancient and as dark as it could come in nature; probably old German necromancy from the sound of it. When he talked about the wands connecting however, Sirius seemed confused.

Marian however quit her pacing on the far end of the office and said quietly to herself, "Priori Incantatem…"

Sirius turned his head and looked at her strangely. "What?"

Marian approached, speaking louder. "Priori Incantatem. The Reverse Spell effect.

"Exactly," Dumbledore confirmed. Both the wands shared a core, a feather from Fawks' tail as a matter of fact. He explained how the wands cannot work against each other and when they are forced to they can sometimes be known to make one another regurgitate previous spells of the weaker wand or wizard at the moment. As all of Voldemort's major spell prior to the event were killing curses, it produced images of Cedric, Bertha Jorkins, and even Harry's parents.

When the story was finished, Dumbledore escorted Harry and Sirius, as a dog of course, to the hospital wing, leaving Marian to wait in the office. She wanted to be with her boys of course but…well it had been a rather odd and frightening night and frankly Marian had a few bones to pick with the headmaster herself.

When he returned some time later, the headmaster appeared tired right down to the bones, but he sat down with Marian across from him and spoke with more fervor than ever she had ever heard.

He told her about the confession they had extracted from Crouch Jr. while she was fetching Sirius. Severus knew, so did Minerva, and Harry of course. Other teachers had come and gone from that room and met with the headmaster to perform certain tasks since then, but they of course did not know the full implications of what snippets of the evening they had witnessed.

"I am curious to know how you knew it was Barty Crouch's son who did this as Alastor Moody."

Marian leaned back and propped her head in her hand, the elbow of which rested on the arm rest on her right. "I felt something off about him the moment I came back here in the fall. Something was just not right. I had chalked it up to just his deepening paranoia, but when I was running through the village tonight to get Sirius is occurred to me that if something was going to happen to Harry tonight it had to be in the maze, and Moody was the one to bring the cup in. He volunteered. Then I started thinking about who he could really be and it occurred to me that no one really had a bone to pick with crouch bad enough to kill him. Not unless you look at when he was running the trials after the first war. I started thinking it was Karkaroff after all, playing both fields, but then I knew he was stalking me in that creepy way he does while the cup was being placed ad he could not possibly have been teaching at the same time as Karkaroff would be sitting in the lounge with Severus. There was a rumor that the body they buried in Jr. place at the yard at Azkaban was not actually him. I didn't know I was right…I just hoped I was."

Slightly dumbfounded, Dumbledore responded, "You truly have a gift, Maria my dear."

"No. I did. Now it's gone."

"Changed."

"Fat lot of good it does me," Marian said sourly. "Couldn't even tell I was being followed tonight. Almost got myself killed. If Severus hadn't been there…" She paused for a moment before straightening up. She met Dumbledore's limpid blue gaze with her stony gray one. "Is he strong enough to do what you're going to ask of him?"

"You're worried."

Marian nodded. "We're so alike him and I. He can be the biggest git in the world, but if he can't last through another war…I find it hard to believe I can."

Dumbledore smiled and reached across the desk, seeking a hand to pat, which Marian gave. "Marian Knightly, you can do this. Seer, perceiver or not, you're intelligent and you're gifted. Bode would into have hired you if he thought you weren't."

"That's another thing, without my seeing abilities I can't do my job anymore. Which is just gravy when you consider that Unspeakables can never be released from their work and get blacklisted from other research institutes if they go AWOL."

"Perhaps now that you've discovered your true talent you can make more headway into the mysteries of death. But that worry is for another day. For now go on to the hospital wing and keep your family company. Harry will be asleep, and you can't speak to Sirius of course, but the Weasley's are there, and after hearing so much about you the past year or so, I know Molly is anxious to meet you."

Just what Marian needed, more meetings. She just wanted to curl up next to Sirius with Harry no more than an arm's length away and sleep. It had been a long trying night. Besides, at this point what else could possibly help anything? Or harm it for that matter. Things were already going to hell in her opinion. Might as well call it a night and start fixing things in the morning.

QUEST

As luck would have it, things would get much worse that night. Marian made it down to the hospital wing, spoke to Molly Weasley for a few minutes, and promptly laid herself on the bed beside Harry's, where Sirius lay curled up beside their godson. She felt as though she had no sooner closed her eyes than they were open again, this time to the dulcet tones of an argument. From what she could gather it had been going on for quite some time.

"It seems to me you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

Fudge was certainly in a snit. It would seem Dumbledore's meeting with him hadn't gone very well at all. Minerva was now in attendance as well, and Severus too. Marian glanced to one side; Harry and Sirius were both awake now. It would seem that Marian was the only one who was still sleeping when this all started.

She stood herself up while Dumbledore was attempting to make an argument for drastic measures to meet the inevitable head on, suggesting the dementors be removed from Azkaban, and walked toward Severus. "What's happened?" she whispered.

Severus bent his head. "He's not taking the truth very well. And he's had a dementor kill Crouch Jr."

Marian barely had time to wrap her head around what Severus had just said before she head what the Minister said next. "Preposterous! Remove the dementors?! I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe inn our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"And the rest of us restless soundly in our beds knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the case of creatures who would join him the instant he asks them!" Marian hardly realized she had spoken until it was too late. But once she started there was no way she could not continue. "They will to remain loyal to you Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him and his supporters returned to him, you will be hard pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"

Dumbledore cut in and continued his suggestions while Severus pulled Marian aside and filled her in a little more. Fudge had let a dementor kill their only corroborating witness to everything they now knew. He had insinuated that Harry was going off his nut on the back of Skeeter's article and was making all kids of wild accusations about the staff of the school and their intentions. And this is where we've ended up, Marian asked herself. A strong headed man with the power to make them all appear to be bonkers and he was going to do it because he could not simply face the fact that things were not quite as final as he had originally thought more than a decade before.

"Insane…mad…" Fudge was backing away from the group of them.

"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this Cornelius," Dumbledore said evenly, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit, and I shall act as I see fit."

The argument was winding down, but Marian could not be bothered to pay attention; she had heard everything she needed to to make her determinations on this conversation's worth. No, she was thinking about the statement Dumbledore had made about acting as he saw fit. What did that mean? Was he going to gather their allies like he had before? Did he intend to conjure up an army to fight?

Fudge left after Severus made a last attempt to convince the man of the truth by displaying his dark mark. Not very wise in her estimation, but then there was no stopping a man standing well over six feet when she herself was only five foot four. He failed of course, except in deciding they were all crazy before dropping Harry's tournament winnings on the bed end table and departing.

With a note of solemnness, Dumbledore spoke again, breaking the silence. "There is work to be done." He turned to Molly. "Molly…am I right in thinking I can count of you and Arthur?"

"Of course you can. We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness of muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur. All those we can convince of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed at the Ministry to contact those who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."

Bill Weasley, who had been sitting in a chair nearby, stood. "I'll go to Dad. I'll go now."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "Tell him what's happened. Tell him I will be in contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. He Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry-"

"Leave it to me." And he was gone.

Dumbledore turned to Minerva next. He asked her to bring Hagrid to his office, along with Madame Maxime if she would consent to come. Madame Pomfrey was asked to look after Winky, the Crouches' old house elf who would be in sever distress after the death of her former master.

"And now it is time for two of our own to recognize one another for what they are." He nodded toward Marian, who grasped a dressing robe from the post of Harry's bed and stood beside the black dog. "Sirius, if you would resume your usual form."

Sirius did and Marian instantly wrapped his nakedness in the robe. Molly screeched his name in horror and Ron had to calm her. The trick though was to get Severus and Sirius to behave civilly.

"Him," Severus spat. "What is he doing here?!"

"He is here on my invitation," Dumbledore said sternly. "As are you Severus. I trust you both and it is time to lay aside your old differences and trust each other." When it seemed nothing was going to happen and the men continued to stare distastefully at one another, Dumbledore sighed. "There is someone very special to both of you, and she is standing in this room. You have both looked after her and nurtured her in your own time, in your own ways, and now she is going to need the guidance of you both to help her become a valuable asset in this war we are about to find ourselves in."

Still nothing. Marian knew it was her he was referring to. She stepped between the two of them, a hand on either of their shoulders and said, "I'll settle for a lack of open hostility. You know what I can do to each of you if you don't get along to my liking."

"You're on the same side now," Dumbledore insisted. "Time is short and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united there is no hope for any of us."

The handshake was short, and displayed a passive aggressive animosity even as they let go. Dumbledore glanced at Marian who waved away his expression. It would be fine to get on with for the moment. He turned back to meet the men's eyes. "I have work for each of you. Fudge's reaction, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while, I will contact you there. Marian is going to go along and help."

"If I may, Dumbledore?" Marian cut in. He nodded to her. "There's a house…I don't know how clean it is after ten years, but it's the safest house in all of London. Very useful; I believe you're aware of the kinds of spells on it."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Quite right. I had forgotten you retained the property."

"Only because it is so dangerous to try and sell to anyone."

"I think it's a marvelous idea. If it's safe, you and Sirius should head on ahead and start making some preparations as best you can. You won't be alone for long."

"But-" Harry was trying to speak, find a reason to keep them from going. Sirius went to him. "You'll see us very soon, Harry. I promise you. But we must do what we can, you understand don't you?"

"Yeah…" Harry sounded brave, but it was hollow. His voice was crestfallen and woebegone despite the strength he was trying to convey. "Yeah of course I do."

Sirius reached for Harry's hand and grasped it for a moment. Marian rushed to embrace her godson from his bed before watching Sirius change into a dog again. He waited for, though Marian had no need to change for the moment. She had one or two minor things to convey herself before departing.

"Molly, there is a niffler in my tower. Dumbledore has a spare key to it. Would you be kind enough to keep him for me? His name is Schorl."

"Of course dear."

Such a kindly woman. Marian hoped she could see her again. There was one more thing she had to do. One more thing she had to say before it was too late.

"Severus, a moment?"

He followed her away from the group, walking her and Sirius to the door to the hospital wing. When they paused at the large oaken doors, Marian gazed up at him and asked, "Are you going to be all right?"

"I honestly don't know."

"What are the chances you'll survive when you get to him?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. I know my argument, my story…but…"

He was nervous. Marian might even venture that he was terrified. She reached behind her neck and unclasped her iolite pendant. There were two stones dangling from chains attached to a lavelier style chain for the neck. Marian grasped one of the stones and yanked it hard from its place to separate it from its sister and with the stones still in her hand she whispered an old charm into her fingers enclosing the gems. She reached for Severus' hand and rested it in his palm.

"Iolite," she said softly. "It will protect you. And if anything happens, this stone's sister will let me know."

Severus looked at the stone in his hand for a moment, seemingly stunned. Then suddenly he reached out and embraced Marian, hard. Sirius growled at their feet and Severus let go. Marian and Sirius departed, but not before Marian glanced one more time at the man who had made her feel like perhaps she was not so alone in the world all those years ago.

Many hours later, Sirius would ask her what that was all about. This left Marian rather thankful they had a job to do and it needed doing in a hurry. He was not looking forward to having to finally describe how his worst enemy had at one time become her closest consort.


End file.
